Haunted Nightmares
by FairyTailxD
Summary: Natsu's been missing for a year now, but he's suddenly found wondering a small village off Magnolia, but there's something wrong with him that he refuses to tell the others.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, this is just a little something I've been writing whilst my computer has been in for repair... I've been stuck on my Dad's netbook which seems to have something against me watching any kind of anime on it... Hope you all enjoy!**

**It's not all that long, my brain doesn't seem to work with writing long chaptered things, I write in small doses...**

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><p>Haunted Nightmares – Chapter 1<p>

It had been a year today since Natsu's 'death', everyone at the table, Gray, Lucy and Erza sat with solemn faces. They had searched for days, months, and today counted as the first year.

He had just suddenly disappeared. They did not want to believe that he had died. He couldn't just be taken down like that. He was one of Fairy Tail's best wizards, and he couldn't just be killed like that.

It was supposed to be an easy mission, just something they needed for money. For Lucy it was to pay for rent, for Natsu just money for food.

Lucy remembered that day; they were fighting some crooks, just easy money. Then suddenly, a large dark shadow was above her, the last thing she saw was Natsu's face as he ran for her, and then everything went blank. She woke up, with Happy unconscious next to her, and Natsu gone. Nothing to show that he had ever even been there.

She got back to the guild, just her and Happy.

A search party had been held, everyone in the guild looking for him. He'd done so much for them, they were all determined at first. But as time went on, people began to accept that their loud and reckless guild mate would not be coming back. There was nothing of him left, not even his scarf.

"Guys, you have to hear this!" It was Levy running toward them, her face all read and puffy from running.

"What is it?" Lucy asked.

"Something's come up. We think it has something to do with Natsu!" At that remark all three of them looked at her intently.

"There've been sightings of a pink haired boy, a couple of towns over. The town he disappeared in."

"And that could mean anyone boy with pink hair." Erza commented.

"That's not it, from what I've heard, he wore a scaly white scarf around his neck."

By this point, Lucy's hope was growing and growing. It certainly was starting to sound like their Natsu, but why hadn't he come back to the guild?

"Do you think he's coming back here?" Gray asked.

"I don't know, but he must be. From what I heard, he didn't stay there too long, and kept going."

"We need to go to him." Lucy said with determination.

"And how are we supposed to find him?" Gray asked.

"We stop at every town there is between here and there." Lucy replied. "Let's go and go Happy, I'm sure he'll love to hear this."

Happy hadn't taken the loss of Natsu very well, and spent most of his days either in the guild with the rest of Fairy tail or back at Lucy's apartment, not wanting to go back to his and Natsu's house because as he'd said 'didn't feel right without Natsu there'.

"I'll tell the master we're going, you guys go and get Happy, and meet back here in half an hour." Erza ordered, walking off in the direction of the masters' office.

"Right, let's go!" Lucy cried. "Thank you, Levy-chan!"

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><p>As expected, Happy had taken the news with great happiness (coincidentally…), and the three of them returned to meet up with Erza, who was patiently waiting for them outside of the guild.<p>

"Ready to go?" She asked. They all nodded, and they left, deciding to catch the train to the next closest city, thinking that Natsu might be a lot closer than they thought, considering he had left that town by the time the news had gotten to them.

"I wonder if he's alright." Happy sighed, a concerned look on his face for the well being of his best friend.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Lucy reassured him.

The train ride was silent for the most part. Each party involved in their own thoughts.

Arriving at the next town in no time at all, all of them departed the train and decided to look around the town, see if they could find any rumours of Natsu's whereabouts.

Stopping a nearby stranger, Erza walked up to them, "Excuse me, sir, have you possibly seen a boy around here, he would have had pink hair, and would have definitely been wearing a scaly white scarf on him."

"I haven't sorry, miss. I hope you find him." He wished her well, and carried on.

"Let's just split up and keep looking for him. Meet back at this place in an hour." She ordered and they all split up. Happy, of course, sticking with Lucy to help find Natsu.

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><p>An hour had passed, and still nothing. Lucy was beginning to think that he wasn't there, that they would have to keep looking again. They had met up with everyone else, and were planning on finding a cheap hotel nearby to stay for the night before making another move in the morning to have another look around the town before heading to the next one. He had to be around somewhere. He could not have disappeared again.<p>

They were walking towards the hotel they had been recommended, and Lucy noticed something strange.

"Hang on." Lucy said, staring into the crowd that just walked by.

"What?"

"I think I just saw something." She said, turning and walking in the direction of the crowd. She was sure she saw pink hair, albeit slightly longer and wilder than what it was before, but it certainly looked like Natsu's hair.

She walked through the crowd, and didn't mind when she suddenly stopped and everyone bumped into her.

He was there; standing right in front of her was her Natsu.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Hey, so here's the next chapter. I've never seen the hits count go up so fast on one of my fanfictions before. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and favourited. I'll reply to the review as soon as I'm done with this, I was kinda hungover when I read it... Yeah, it was a good night though... My writing process for these chapters just seem to be really weird to me... it usually takes me a day to write them, inbetween about five or six cigarettes, a nice break halfway to see where I've gotten and where I'd like to go... Oh, well, writers are supposed to be strange, right? I was writing one with a packet of crisps and a bottle of Stella next to me... Anyway... moving on from the boring monologue xD Hope you enjoy this one!**

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><p>"Natsu?" She asked, looking directly into the face in front of her. He seemed just as surprised to see her as she was to him.<p>

"Lucy?" He asked hesitantly, his voice gruff and coarse.

"Natsu!" She shouted, jumping at him. She took careful observation of the flinch she felt as he held on to him. She felt him go stiff in her arms.

"Natsu!" Happy shouted, flying towards him. Natsu smiled. Erza and Gray watched from the background not wanting to interrupt the scene before them.

"What happened?" Lucy asked. "Where have you been?"

"We need to go. They could get here any minute."

"Who could be here any minute?" Erza asked, looking at Natsu cautiously.

"The people that got me. I broke out, but it won't be long before they come and get me again. We need to leave here. And quick." Natsu explained.

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><p>And so, they found themselves on the train once again, but something was off. The train had just departed, but Natsu didn't look sick. Lucy stared at him warily, and noticed that Erza and Gray had also noted the change. Another thing they noticed was that he kept looking around the train compartment and flinching, a memory dancing behind his eyes.<p>

"Do you not get motion sick anymore, Natsu?" Happy asked, looking at his friend closely.

He didn't answer, just stared down at his hands. It was then they realised how beat up he really was, being too far into the happiness that they'd found him, they hadn't stopped to check for injuries. There was one thing that bothered them the most, it was a bracelet of some sort, attached to his wrist, and obviously causing discomfort from the raw and still slightly bleeding skin around it.

"What happened whilst you were gone?" Lucy asked silently, noticing everyone's attention was no directed at Natsu.

"I don't want to talk about it. We just need to get out of here." He replied, looking out the window. Natsu knew his friends were suspicious but there was nothing he could do. They just needed to get out of there before they came back to get him. He knew he was being tracked, he knew they'd know where to find him. But they stood more of a chance to fight back if they were all ganged together back at the guild.

Suddenly, Natsu grabbed the wrist with the wristband, and cringed in pain. His breath coming out in harsh gasps. "Gah!" He screamed as the pain intensified, blood starting to drip off his wrist. "Please, just leave me alone!" he begged as the pain grew more intense.

"Natsu!" Lucy screamed, grabbing a hold of him. Gray went up to Natsu and attempted to freeze the bracelet, but this only caused Natsu to writhe more in pain. Natsu suddenly stopped writhing and slumped over Lucy's lap, unconscious. His breathing irregular, leaving the four other members of the guild to stare at him in fear.

"What the hell was that?" Gray asked.

"It must be the bracelet; it's causing him pain somehow." Erza commented, staring at the bracelet on his wrist intensely.

"We need to get it off." Lucy said.

"I tried; my magic just caused him more pain." Gray said.

"The master needs to see this." Erza said leaving the group in a tense silence.

They arrived back at the guild to the shocked stars of the guild members. They all looked in surprise at their beaten and bruised lost comrade, Natsu Dragneel., dangling limply off the shoulder of his supposed enemy Gray Fullbuster None of them ever believed that they'd ever see their long lost friend again, let alone see him this beat up with no explanation.

"What happened?" Makarov questioned walking to the front of the guild.

"We got him; he was walking through the town. He's been really secretive, but the bracelet on his wrist. It was causing him a lot of pain and he collapsed." Lucy explained as quickly as she could.

"Get him to the infirmary. Quickly." Makarov ordered.

"Right." Gray said, running him to the infirmary. Wendy and Mirajane not too far behind.

The guild was silent, knowing that the two needed time to tend to their friend.

"We should be prepared for the worst." Makarov said silently, "we do not know what he has been through."

"Do you have any idea what they could have put him through? He was terrified of them on the train. He said that they would come for him." Erza informed Makarov.

"By the looks of it, it could have been some sort of torture. But it could have been anything. We need to be ready for them to come back and get him, if Natsu believes that they are following him, and then we should be prepared to stand up and fight for him." Makarov replied, looking sternly to the members of the guild. All of whom nodded in motivation for protecting their friend, as he would have done the same for him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, this is the next chapter of Haunted Nightmares! I hope you've all enjoyed what's been put up so far, and I hope you continue to enjoy. Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, alerted. I appreciate your time in reading my fic xD My writing time seems to be getting cut shorter and shorter at the moment. I've started back in Uni now, and I've got housing to sort out for next year, books to read, essays to write, lectures to attend... the usual.. But moving on. I hope you enjoy this one!**

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

Gray put Natsu down on the bed as Mirajane had ordered him to do; he stared at his rival in shock as they began to strip down his clothing to see the extent of the injuries he had received.

"That's inhumane." He commented looking at the numerous still healing wounds covering his torso, and the scars that now covered his arms, legs and stomach. Marks he would probably bear for the rest of his life.

Wendy set to work on healing the worst of the injuries.

"I won't be able to heal some. Some are too deep, those will have to heal on their own, but I'll try my best to speed up the process." She commented; sweat forming at her brow from concentration whilst Mirajane set about wrapping up the lighter injuries in bandages. Noticing something strange about his leg.

"His legs broken." She commented, running her finger down the length of the swelling, watching as his body involuntarily twitched at the lightest pressure it was receiving. We need to realign it before it heals this way."

Gray just stood there in a stunned silence. Natsu had endured so much and still managed to get back here alive. That took sheer willpower, and he felt ashamed that he couldn't get to his, as much as he wouldn't admit it out loud, friend.

"Come here, Gray." Mirajane ordered. "I know you won't like this, but I need you to snap his leg back into place."

Gray nodded, not liking the situation, but wanting to put his friend out of more pain. "You feel the break here?" Mirajane asked.

"Yeah," Gray answered.

Grabbing a hold of it, "Sorry, Natsu." He said and snapped his leg back into place. Natsu jolted back into conscious, the overflowing pain, snapping him back to reality.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again!" He shouted, and then looked around the room, noticing he wasn't _there_ and laying down on a bed, with Gray, Mirajane and Wendy looking down at him, a sad but happy look on their faces.

"Natsu!" Wendy shouted, giving him a gentle hug, being cautious of his injuries. The violent flinch at the contact didn't go unnoticed by the other members in the room.

"Welcome back, Natsu." Mirajane smiled, wiping a tear off her face. Natsu looked at them all in a stunned silence.

"I'm back?" he questioned looking around the room. "Wait, where's Erza and Lucy. I remember being with them. Did they take them? Where are they?"

"Don't worry so much, flame brain. They're downstairs waiting to hear about you." Gray said, smirking. Natsu relaxed slightly at hearing the news. "But what everyone's wondering more about is what happened to you this last year, Natsu? Where have you been?"

"Everyone has been so worried about you, Natsu. We thought you were dead." Wendy cried.

"What does it look like?" Natsu questioned sarcastically, noticing that Wendy had been healing his injuries, and that bandages were covering most of his body.

"Torture?" Gray said.

Natsu was silent, looking in the opposite direction.

"If they're coming after you, I think we need to know what we're up against so they don't get you back!" Gray shouted.

"Torture was one part of it."

"One part of it?" Mirajane questioned.

"They liked to collect 'special' kinds of wizards. Wizards with powers that were rare. Then pitted them together to fight against each other to see who would win." Natsu said, still looking at the other direction. Memories of the fights and torture he had to endure swirling behind his eyes. He never wanted to go back there again. The things they did to him, the things he saw them to do other people. Those were things he'd never be able to unseen. Things that would forever be ingrained in his memory. What would Igneel think of him now? Seeing him so broken and defeated. He would be ashamed, were the thoughts running through his head now. He would never be able to face Igneel like this. He would be too ashamed.

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><p>Mirajane, Wendy and Gray walked down the steps from the infirmary on the second floor. All with solemn looks on their faces. Lucy ran up to them.<p>

"How is he?" She asked, everyone in the guild looking at them.

"He woke up for a bit after we realigned a broken leg. We found out a bit of what happened, though he wouldn't go into detail." Mirajane commented.

"If those bastards ever come and get him, I will show them my fist. No one treats a member of Fairy Tail like that and gets away with it." Gray said angrily.

"What happened to him?" Makarov asked in a grave voice.

"Torture, and some sort of strength competitions." Mirajane replied. "Though, I think there was more to it that just that though. He wouldn't say anything after that."

"How is he now?" Erza asked.

"Sleeping. We told him to rest, to help his body heal up. But, some things will never heal. He'll probably feel phantom pains of the experience for years, or the rest of his life. His leg was badly broken, which we put back in place. But his body was covered in scars and injuries. We did what we could to ease the pain, but it's up to him now how he heels." Mirajane answered.

"Can we go see him?" Lucy asked, looking down at Happy who was crying silently clinging onto her leg.

"Yes, but try not to wake him." Mirajane answered as Lucy and Happy began to walk up the stairs to their fallen comrade and friend, Natsu.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, long time no see.. well, it has only been a day, but my days have been so hectic. Like today for example. I left my flat at 8.20 and didn't get back to it till 8.30 in the night... Yep. I was in lectures 9-12, then I went out and sorted my housing for next year, which is this really lush two bedroom house I'm getting with my friend Sam, I'm so excited! Then, I went and watched DVD's over Sam's flat. But here I am. I would like to thank all who've reviewed, read, favourited and alrerted this fic so far. I'm so glad that people seem to be enjoying it! I hope you enjoy this one just as much!**

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

"_Do it, Salamander." A large, muscled man said bringing a whip down on Natsu's back._

_"No. I won't do it!" Natsu argued._

_"Do you want us to do that again?" the man said, laughing, knowing the fear than run its course through Natsu's body._

_"He's unconscious, isn't that enough?" He cried, looking at the bloody body in front of him. He had done that, he was beaten senseless until he'd given in, but he absolutely refused to finish him._

_"You were ordered to kill him, and that's what you'll do. Like a good boy. Come on Salamander, or aren't the dragons as fearful as they once were." He mocked, looking at the bleeding boys in front of him._

_"I said no. I refuse to do it." The whip came down and down again repeatedly, Natsu could feel the blood dripping again, but he would not break. He would not kill the boy in front of him. He had no second thoughts that the boy in front of him would kill him. But he would not do it._

_"Then you leave me no choice." He laughed. "Boys. He's here for you."_

_The laughing continued, Natsu knew what was coming. But he would take it to ensure that this boy lived. At least one more day anyway._

_"Ho, so the Salamander still refuses to kill then?" Another man said. "Well, we have more ways of dealing with people like you."_

_Natsu felt pain, intense pain. But he knew this was not what they meant. He knew if was going to get worse for him. "Don't do it." He said quietly, knowing they would not listen to him._

_They stepped slowly toward him as if mocking him. What would his guild mates say if they saw him now? He was pathetic._

_"Please." He begged. But still they approached. The pain intensified. He screamed. "Please!"_

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><p>"Natsu!" Lucy shouted, shaking the shoulders of her friend. His injuries could wait, but she couldn't let him suffer like that whilst she just watched. "You have to wake up. You're sleeping!"<p>

Suddenly his hand grabbed her and he jolted awake. But realisation hit him, and he let go of Lucy's wrist.

"Sorry, Lucy." He said, looking away.

"How are you?" She noticed he relax, fingering the bracelet on his wrist nervously.

"Great." He replied quickly. Happy jumped up on the bed, standing next to Natsu's shoulder so he could look at his friends face.

"Natsu." He cried. Natsu instantly calmed down and lifted his hand and patted Happy on the head.

"Hey, buddy. How are you?" He asked a soft smile on his face. Lucy watched in amazement, how calm he seemed around his blue feline friend. This was the most relaxed she'd seen him since they'd found him.

"I'd be better if you were better." Happy replied.

"Don't worry, buddy. I'll be good as new in no time. This is nothing." He smiled at Happy.

"Aye." Happy replied sadly, not really believing his story.

"Gah, I'm hungry, I haven't eaten anything proper in ages. Shall we go and get something to eat?" Natsu exclaimed.

"Do you want me to go and get Mirajane to bring you something?" Lucy asked.

"I'd rather be down there with everyone. You know. I haven't seen them in how long?" Natsu replied, the true reason being not liking being on his own.

"I'll go get Gray to see if he can help you get down the stairs." Lucy commented and ran down the stairs.

"Natsu… are you really going to be okay? You scared everyone on the train when you were in pain like that." Happy said, looking his friend in the eyes.

"Yeah, I'll be fine now that I'm home. Don't worry, Happy." He comforted his friend, not wanting to upset the cat anymore than he already seemed to be.

"But Mirajane said it would take a while to get better again." Happy cried.

"Well, I'm the son of Igneel, right? I'm not going to let some cuts stop me!" He exclaimed, wishing that this was what he truly felt. But he felt better seeing Happy smile.

"Aye!" He shouted back.

Lucy returned to the door with Gray in tow.

"Mirajane says she's not happy with you wanting to come down stairs seen as though you've not let any of your injuries have healed yet." Gray commented, looking at Natsu. "But everyone else wants to see you, so she let up for now."

Gray walked up to Natsu, and helped him sit up before getting him off the bed, taking note of how stiff he felt at the contact he was receiving.

Natsu was stubborn and insisted on at least hopping his way to the stairs, using Gray as a crutch, before being allowed to be somewhat carried down the stairs to the rest of the guild, wearing nothing but his pants and bandages that covered his body.

The people of the guild felt a little more at ease, seeing their friend being placed in a chair by a table, and talk happily with the rest at the table, though they could all see the haunted look that hid behind his eyes. Something they knew they would probably get used to. Mirajane brought him his food and fire as a treat; she figured he probably wouldn't have been getting a lot of that when he was in that hellhole for a year.

Everyone noticed how he ate his food in slow mouthfuls, and that truly pained them to see. He probably never ate much when he was away, and learnt to slow down and make it last longer so he wouldn't be as hungry, or at least hungry for as long.

"Natsu." Makarov called, walking towards him at the table.

"Gramps." He replied, looking at the old man in front of him.

"How many do you think will come to get you?" He didn't want to be the one to break the sombre atmosphere in the hall, but he needed to know to be prepared, and he would have to get the information to get ready. Though he was confident that his guild could handle any person that came to harm anyone from his guild.

"I don't know. They won't send out the strong ones first. They'll feel us out first to see how strong we are." He answered quietly putting his cutlery down on the now empty plate, looking into the fire before him, feeling the power flowing into him just from looking at it.

"When you're up for it, come to my office and talk about it. I want to know everything." He said walking towards his office. Natsu flinched, but did not answer. He knew they'd want answers sooner or later, but whether he had it in him to answer would be a completely different question. There were things there that happened to him that he would never want to speak of again. It would be difficult. And some things he knew he would never speak of again in front of his friends from the guild. They would think he was pathetic for letting such a thing happen to him. They would pity him, and that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

"So, how are you feeling, Natsu?" Erza asked, watching as he ate the fire with a flinch, one hand immediately going to grab the bracelet.

"Fine." He replied, looking up from the fire.

"What's that bracelet?" Lisanna asked. Natsu looked at her, and then looked at the bracelet.

"If you disobeyed, they would torture you with it. They control it. They can activate it even if I'm here and they're back there." He replied, running his finger along the sore skin around the bracelet. Everyone in the guild stared silently at him; he knew they were looking at him. He looked to Gray. "Can you take me back upstairs now, I want to sleep."

Gray nodded getting up to help his friend, his words playing over in his head.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favourited and all the rest. Escpecially Master of the Hellish Yard who always reviews. Thank you so much, your kind words mean a lot to me! So, here's chapter 5. I hope you enjoy this one just as much!**

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

"_We're coming for you."_ _The large muscled man said._

_Natsu looked at the floor, this was not a normal dream, he knew that they were talking to him directly. He was in the same room, back there, the place he never wanted to see again._

_"We won't be long, little Salamander."_ _He laughed, walking away leaving Natsu on his own, to his memories._

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><p>Jumping awake, Natsu looked around and noticed he was still in the infirmary. Happy was by his side, sleeping, and Lucy sitting on a chair by the side of the bed, looking down at her hands, she looked up after hearing him jump.<p>

"You're awake." She commented. Looking him up and down. "What did you dream about?"

"Nothing." He replied, looking in a different direction to her. He knew that they should know what was coming for him, but he'd already told them that. He didn't want to freak them out anymore by telling them that they could get into his dreams too.

"You're going to want to talk about it to someone eventually; it's not something that you can keep to yourself forever. And we want to be there to help you. We're here for you, you know that." Lucy explained.

"I know. I'm just not ready to talk about it." Natsu sighed. He hated that it's all he seemed to be speaking about was what happened to him whilst he was gone. He just wanted a change of subject. "So, what have you been up to whilst I was… gone?"

"I did the odd job here and there to pay rent, but we searched for you mainly." Lucy explained, looking at Natsu.

"How is he?" A man Natsu had not met before asked. Natsu smelt something familiar about him, but couldn't place where he'd smelt it before.

"Fine, he's up and talking, see?" Lucy explained to the man. Natsu looked at her confused. "Oh, right. Natsu this is Fairy Taill's newest member, Bryon. He joined not so long ago."

"Nice to meet you," Bryon said, walking up to Natsu, holding out his hand for Natsu to shake, which he hesitantly did.

"Same to you." Natsu gave the smallest of smiles before letting go quickly and looking down to Happy.

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><p>A week turned into a month, and Natsu found himself moving around the guild more, he needed to get out though, he couldn't stay here forever. It was going to drive him insane. There was another thing that was beginning to bug him, the new member, Bryon was always around him, and the familiar scent was beginning to bug him and he couldn't place where he'd smelt his scent before. He didn't really trust him, and he couldn't work out whether that was because of what he'd gone through, or because something just wasn't letting him trust him. Everyone else at the guild trusted him, so he didn't get why he couldn't either.<p>

Conversation in the guild had began going back to normal, and not hushed whispers about Natsu's wellbeing, and subjects to avoid. People would still ask him if he was okay, and try to get out of him what had happened to him whilst he was gone, but he always found himself unable to answer.

He was still waiting for them to come and get him. He knew they would come back eventually, even if everyone in the guild began relaxing, hoping that they were not coming back for their pink-haired friend anymore.

Natsu sat at the table, eating his meal slowly, a habit he still hadn't given up on.

"I need to go out on a mission." He said looking up at everyone at the table. They looked at him quietly before Erza replied.

"I don't think you're ready."

"Why not?" Natsu argued.

"Your leg has only just about healed, and that's not telling us the mental state you're in." She answered smartly.

"What does my mental state have to do with anything?" He questioned. "I'm fine, like I've been telling everyone."

"Okay, so why don't you tell us what exactly happened there?" She countered.

"I've already told you. I was tortured, and put to fight other wizards." He replied sternly, not looking away from her, not matter how much he wanted.

"I don't think that covers it, Natsu. We know that more probably went on there. You don't need to hide it, Natsu." Erza said, her voice getting louder, grabbing the attention of the other guild members.

"You wouldn't want to know, it's not something you want to hear," Natsu replied to her.

"What do you know what we want? You can't keep it from us forever." Erza argued.

"Yeah, Natsu, tell us so we can help you." Bryon said, looking Natsu directly in the eyes. Natsu felt an overwhelming fear sneak up through his body. He did not want to be around this man any longer. He was freaking him out.

"No, I don't want to talk about it; I just want to forget it!" He shouted at them. The guild went silent, all eyes on Natsu.

"Fight me." Gray suddenly said. A smirk plastered on his face.

"What?" Natsu asked, looking at him.

"You said they put you up to fight, so you must have gotten stronger, right? Let's see if you can beat me now." He taunted, looking at Natsu in the eye. He moved off the table, and waited for Natsu to follow. What surprised the guild the most were the slow and hesitant steps that Natsu took to follow Gray. Usually, he would have been raring to go and would have fought Gray without him even asking for it.

Gray made the first move, by moving to punch Natsu. Natsu grabbed the punch and swiftly kicked Gray in the stomach causing him to double up in pain, lighting up his spare fist with fire, and punched up across the cheek, sending Gray flying across the guild. Gray managed to get up before Natsu pounced on him, punching him again in the face.

_"Go for it, kill him, Little Salamander."_ A voice in Natsu's head taunted. _"Kill him, you know you have to."_ Natsu tried to ignore the voice, but the fear began spreading through his body and he hit Gray one more time, blood dripping down his face.

"Natsu! Stop! You'll kill him!" Lucy screamed at him in panic, never seeing such a look cross Natsu's face. He was afraid. Everyone in the guild could see that, like his head wasn't really there.

"_Go for it, this is your chance to kill him. Be a good little boy now."_ The voice taunted.

"I won't do it. I can't." Natsu shouted back, no one knew who he was talking to. Gray lifted up his arms in an attempt to block the unpredictable attacks Natsu was delivering. Erza ran toward them, pulling Natsu off Gray.

They all watched as Natsu slumped to the floor, shaking in fear, his hands covering his head.

"Please, don't make me do it. I won't do it." He whispered to himself. "I can't do it. He's my friend. I won't kill him."

"Natsu?" Erza leaned down close to him.

"Stay away from me!" He screamed, pushing Erza out of the way. They watched as he grabbed at his hair, whispering "I won't do it," to himself.

Makarov walked slowly and calmly toward Natsu. "Erza! Make sure Gray is alright." He ordered walking past her.

Standing in front of Natsu, Makarov stuck his hand on Natsu's head. "There's something wrong here, there's some sort of magic stopping me from seeing."

"I won't do it. I won't do it. Gramps. I promise. I won't kill Gray." Natsu cried.

"I know you won't, Natsu." Gramps comforted, watching as one of his children shook in fear at an unknown presence.

"He keeps telling me to do it. For the last year, it's been kill this guy, kill this wizard. I won't do it. I haven't done it. I wouldn't." He cried.

"I know you won't. You don't need to explain yourself to me." Makarov said trying to calm him down. Natsu suddenly jerked his head to the side and threw up what he had just eaten, his head feeling light, he started to collapse. Luckily, Makarov caught him. "Bryon. Take him back up to the infirmary. He needs to rest."

"Right." Bryon said, walking to Natsu and taking him out of the masters' hands.

Placing Natsu down on the bed, Bryon smirked. "Don't worry, Little Salamander. He wasn't special enough for you to kill anyway, you're safe for now."

* * *

><p>Natsu awoke with a start, looking frantically around the room; he calmed noticing he was back at the infirmary.<p>

"Natsu!" Lucy said, gaining his attention. "How are you? You gave us quite a scare."

"How's Gray?" Natsu asked ignoring her question.

"He's fine. You know he can't take more than a couple of punches. Wendy healed his wounds."

"That's good." He replied, looking down at the bed sheets and saw Happy by his side again, the ever loyal and faithful friend.

"Natsu." Makarov said walking into the room. "We need to talk." Natsu nodded knowing that there would be no escaping it after the meltdown he'd had in front of everyone at the guild. They definitely wouldn't let him go on any missions now, at least not till they were more than sure that he could handle it.

Getting out of bed, and careful not to wake up Happy, he followed the master out of the infirmary and across the stairs to the masters' office.

"Take a seat, I have a feeling this might take a while." Makarov said, sitting behind his desk, where a pile of papers sat, probably from the council waiting to be answered by the master. "I want to know everything."

Natsu stayed silent staring at the floor.

"And don't hold anything back; I want to know everything that they did to you whilst you were with them." Makarov said. "What you did to Gray was serious. He could have been seriously injured had Erza not stopped you. I can't just sit and watch as you torture yourself like that anymore. You're not with them anymore."

"I will be soon. They will come back and get me." Natsu replied.

"And we're ready for them for when they do come. But I need to know what you went through. I need to be able to understand what kind of person they're like."

"No holding back?" Natsu asked, knowing the answer already.

"No holding back." The master confirmed, and Natsu took a deep breath and began to tell him everything that he had been through.

* * *

><p>Lucy walked back down the stairs, Happy in tow.<p>

"So, what's he like?" Gray asked.

"Upset. He was worried he'd seriously hurt you." Lucy explained.

"But we needed to see what kind of mental situation he was in. And obviously, it's not good." Gray said.

"I feel sorry for the kid," Macao said. "After everything he's done for us. I feel like there's nothing I can do to help him."

"We can be there for him by being by his side until he's ready to tell us everything that happened to him." Erza commented.

"No one likes seeing him like that. And no one blames him for what he did. There must have been some serious mental stuff going on for him to flip out like that. He's not usually the kind to keep these things to himself." Macao said. Everyone at the guild sat in a silence. Waiting for both the master and Natsu to emerge from the office.

Bryon sat at the table with a blank face on. He revelled in the pain and sorrow that hung in the air of the guild. He loved how broken and defeated their once renown Salamander was. And it was all their doing. He relished in the moment. Savouring every moment to examine later on and tell his comrades when he left the guild for the day. They would definitely be pleased at this new development. The Little Salamander had never truly shown to them how much their work had broken him down.

* * *

><p>Makarov sat in shock. He was angered, how could he let that have happened to one of his children? The people who had done this would pay. He looked forward to the day when they came, because he would teach them a lesson or two on what happened when they messed with the Fairy Tail guild.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

**So, a little more of what happened to Natsu is revealed in this chapter. I remember writing this chapter a while back and being so excited about it(because I'm a sick bastard obviously...), but rereading it has made me realise how iffy it's come out. It was kind of awkward to write, not because of the content, it's just some matters are a little closer to personal experience than I'd like to share. I mean, nothing as bad as Natsu, it's just something that happens when you have a bastard of a brother... anyway, enough of my life. Here's more of Natsu's. I hope you enjoy, thank you for reading, reviewing etc :D**

* * *

><p>Chapter 6<p>

His dreams were getting more intense and frequent. He'd fall asleep for the slightest second, and memories of his time being tortured would come back to him. He'd always wake up screaming, covered in sweat. People in the guild were more worried for him now than they ever had been.

They knew he hadn't been sleeping well from the dark bags around his eyes, and they knew the reason. He'd fallen asleep sitting at the table one day; they'd all seen him wake up screaming an hour later. Everyone wanted to help him, they just didn't know how.

Makarov would sit at the bar, a drink in hand, but with no way of knowing how to stop these dreams he was having. Natsu had told him everything, but there was nothing he could do to stop these dreams from rampaging in one of children's head. The way he was treated, the things that they'd done to him. Those were things he could only imagine, and even then, they probably wouldn't have come close to what had actually happened.

The only one that would seem unaffected by all this was Bryon. The newest member of Fairy Tail. Though the members of the guild simply put it down to putting on a poker face and pretending like he didn't really know Natsu all that well, and that he wasn't as affected by the boy. Though his true intentions would soon be revealed.

* * *

><p>"So, it seems like our Little Salamander is suffering well back at his guild." One large muscled man said.<p>

"So it seems, Cain." Answered another, known to the Fairy Tail guild members as Bryon, looking at the previous speaker, now revealed to be Cain.

"Bryon, how long until the plan can move forward?" Cain asked.

"Not long. I suggest the sooner that we go forward, the better before his little friends have a chance of getting more information out of him, and before they start 'healing' him." He replied in a sick, patronising voice.

"So, shall we start with the plan to bring him back? We'll have to do it by force, of course. Make an example of him. Show them what we did to him for fun." Cain smiled a large maniacal smile. He loved to cause 'his' Little Salamander pain. He was just so much fun to try and break.

* * *

><p>It was lively at the guild on this day; everyone was laughing and talking with each other. Everyone relaxed, and just enjoyed being together after a year filled with stress and grief.<p>

This was also the day that Bryon would make his move. Taking advantage of the guild's relaxed attitude. Smirking to himself, he cast his spell. His magic was living doll. He could control living human beings, an old form of magic that was rarely known. He cast the magic on everyone besides one.

"What? I can't move!" Lucy cried out, realising her body was frozen. And suddenly, an uproar followed, all realising that they were stuck in place, even the master was held down by the magic, caught in a moment of unawareness.

Natsu froze. He was the only one that could move. Well, the only one who seemed to be able to move. He watched as Bryon stood up in front of him.

"So, Little Salamander, have you missed us?" He asked, a smirk covering his face.

"You were one of them the entire time?" He asked it was no wonder he faintly remembered the smell, but how couldn't he place it to him.

"You wouldn't have recognised my smell; I've been disguising it from you." Bryon answered as if reading Natsu's mind. "But, now, we're going to make an example of you in front of all of your lovely guild mates. How about that?"

Natsu paled, he didn't like where this was going, and he knew where this was going. They'd frequently made an example of him before for breaking the rules.

"You're not allowed to leave, remember?" Bryon taunted, Natsu just stayed silent, where he was. Bryon set out a chair in the middle of the guild, in front of everyone to view. "Come here." Was the order, which Natsu shakily obeyed.

"Quicker." He ordered, activating the bracelet which they still hadn't been able to get rid of. Natsu collapsed to the floor, writhing in pain.

"Stop it! What are you going to do to him?" Erza shouted.

"Get up, Little Salamander. Sit on this chair nice and neat for me." Bryon smiled. "You were never this compliant before. Is it because you know I have the lives of all of your friends in my hands?"

Natsu sat on the chair, looking Bryon directly in his eyes. "Please, don't."

"Don't what? Do what you know I'm going to do to you? Or kill your friends? You know if you disobey me, I could just kill them all right here, right in front of you. Shall we turn them all around so that they can see us?"

"No, please!" Natsu begged. The guild was stunned and shocked at seeing Natsu beg, it was something they thought they would never see. Bryon ran a hand down Natsu's face, and chest, stopping just above the stomach.

"So, let's give them a show, shall we?" He smiled, before moving in and forcefully kissing Natsu. Natsu didn't move throughout the whole ordeal, knowing that disobeying meant punishment. Everyone in the guild watched in horror, now fully understanding the extent of what had happened. Natsu had been raped, and for all they knew, on countless occasions in an attempt to get him to break. They beat him, tortured him, forced him to fight to the death, and lastly they raped him. They could now see why he was so messed up. And why he didn't like to be touched anymore.

"Get off him, you bastard!" Gray shouted, trying to get out of the magic that was holding him down.

"Look at how shocked they are." Bryon laughed pulling away from Natsu, who had a blank look on his face. Bryon ran his finger up and down Natsu's leg. "Shall we show them a bit more?"

Natsu never answered, and Bryon activated the bracelet again. Screaming and falling off the chair, Bryon increased the pain, and then began kicking Natsu in the stomach.

"Shall we bring out your favourite thing?" Bryon questioned with a smirk, relishing in the moment of seeing the pain spread across Natsu's face. Pulling a whip out from his pant pocket, he whipped Natsu across his exposed stomach. "Doesn't this bring back so many happy memories?"

Natsu's vision was beginning to blur, and the pain constantly intense running through his body, he felt blood dripping from my stomach and running from his mouth, he coughed and blood splat out. The last thing he saw before his vision blurred was the master in his giant form sneaking up on Bryon and taking him out.

"You should never have harmed one of my children in front of me!" He shouted angrily before delivering a beating to Bryon. Then the world darkened and Natsu knew no more.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, sorry I haven't updated in a few days. I've had my sister visiting me, and I didn't really get the chance to update anything, but here's the next chapter. Thank you so much for all the reviews, alerts, reads. You know the drill of how I thank by now xD I hope you enjoy this chapter too!**

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><p>Chapter 7<p>

"_Do you feel afraid, Little Salamander?" Cain asked. "We save this kind of punishment for those who repeatedly disobey."_

_ Natsu couldn't find it in himself to answer, every part of his being hurt, ached. He was ashamed, how could he have let that happen to him? Igneel had taught him that act was something savoured for when two people loved each other. That it wasn't supposed to hurt like this. He wasn't supposed to feel so ashamed and humiliated like this._

_ "You are ours, never forget that. And we'll beat it into you every day until you accept that." _

_ "I'll never be yours. I belong to Fairy Tail." Natsu cried out, only to be hit in response._

_ "Where is this Fairy Tail of yours? I don't see them coming to get you." Cain laughed._

_ Natsu had no answer. He believed in his comrades. He knew if he didn't get out, they'd find him and save him. But the longer he stayed here, the longer he felt his mind slipping away from him._

_ "No answer? Pity, your silent belief in them is amusing. How can you have such blind faith in that guild?" Natsu refused to answer his laughing tormentor. He'd forgotten how long he'd been here, each day blurring into another. He knew one thing though; he needed to get out of here, and sooner rather than later._

* * *

><p>Natsu woke with a jump, and the memories of what had just happened swirled around in his head. Curling up into himself, ignoring the pain that racked through his body, he let silent tears run down his face. They'd all seen. Everyone at the guild now knew everything that had happened to him.<p>

"Natsu?" Happy asked, looking at his friend with tears in his eyes. He hated seeing the person who raised him suffering so.

Wiping his eyes, Natsu asked "What's wrong, Happy?"

"Nothing. I'm just glad that you're awake. Everyone was really worried about you." He said, the tears now slipping down his face.

"How long have I been out for?" Natsu asked his friend.

"About an hour. The master got rid of Bryon." Happy informed Natsu, he watched as Natsu relaxed a little, but didn't uncurl himself from the ball he'd settled himself into. "I'll go tell everyone else you're awake."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe it. How could we not have noticed?" Erza asked, shunning herself for not noticing Natsu's pain all this time.<p>

"You know what he's like, when he wants something hidden, he'll hide it. I noticed he didn't like to be touched, but I figured it was just because of the torture and nothing else." Gray responded. The guild was back to the silence that followed after Natsu had been brought back the first time. Though this one was a lot heavier, no one knew what to say to each other.

"He's awake!" Happy shouted, flying down the stairs to meet with them. Makarov was the first to stand.

"I'll go see him first, and then you can all go see him, alright?" He said, walking up the stairs.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry, Natsu." Makarov said, walking into the infirmary.<p>

"What for?" Natsu asked. Makarov took note of the position Natsu had gotten into.

"For not being able to protect you. You warned us they'd come back for you, I just never expected it to be one of our own." He sighed. "You shouldn't lie like that; you'll irritate your wounds."

"I'm used to the pain by now." Came Natsu's blunt answer. Makarov didn't like his answer, but he had no other choice but to accept it. He hated to see one of his children suffering like this and he was helpless. The people who did this to him will pay, that's what he'd decided. He'd never let another member of Fairy Tail or any other person suffer like this again.

"There's another thing you should be aware of." Makarov started hesitantly, preparing for the blow, "The magic council has now become involved."

"What? Why?" He asked, sitting up and looking at Makarov.

"We can't deal with them on our own. We need the help of the Council for this." Makarov said. "If we'd let Bryon go, he would have gone back to them and got more of them. You would have been taken again. You know how many of them there are. Beating them to a pulp and leaving them and not doing anything about them wouldn't have helped you any, and it would not have helped anyone else."

Natsu settled himself back into his ball. "I know."

"They're going to want to question you."

"I can't tell them." Natsu said, "It'll hurt too much."

"I know, but we need to take them down, and stop them from doing it to more people." Makarov sighed and left the room.

* * *

><p>"It's okay for you to go and see him," Makarov announced to the guild as he walked down the stairs from the infirmary.<p>

"I need to go and question him then," An elderly woman said walking up to the master.

"Not now. I don't think he can deal with a questioning right now." Makarov said to her.

"The sooner we get the information out of him, the sooner we can go to them and arrest them." She argued.

"Not now. At the moment, he just needs to see and speak to his friends." Makarov countered. "He's been through a traumatic experience, an experience which has obviously broken one of our best mages."

"I'll be back tomorrow, and I will question him, no arguments." She said shortly and walked briskly out of the guild hall.

Erza, Gray, Happy, Lucy and Lisanna stood and walked up the stairs, everyone else figuring that they could go and see him some other time; he needed his close friends with him now.

"Hey, Natsu." Lucy said, walking into a shocking sight. Natsu looked so down and defeated. His position suggesting he was trying to defend himself from an outside force that could only be found inside.

"How are you?" Lisanna asked, looking at Natsu.

"Fine." He replied quickly, not looking at any of them.

"Do you want to talk about anything?" Erza asked trying to use the softest voice she could. She reached out to put her hand on his shoulder in comforting manner.

"Please don't touch me." He whispered, and Erza quickly withdrew her hand.

"Come on, Natsu. You seriously need to get out of this depression if doesn't suit you." Gray complained.

"What's it to you?" Natsu retorted.

"Where's your fighting spirit? The Natsu I know would want to go and kick their asses." Gray continued, everyone was making motions to get him to stop, but he ignored them, "The Natsu I know wouldn't be sitting in the infirmary frightened of some nightmares."

"What would you know, Gray?" Natsu shouted sitting up. "You haven't been through what they did to me! You weren't tortured every day for a year. You weren't forced to fight people to the death, and when you refused, they'd torture you more. You weren't raped for disobeying!"

"Then let us help you, let us share the burden with you!" Lucy shouted back at him.

"When will the council be here to question me?" Natsu asked changing the subject.

"Master Makarov convinced them to come back tomorrow. He said you needed time with your friends and to rest first." Erza answered.

"Will you stay with me when they question me?" He asked, surprising everyone.

"Of course." Lucy answered.

"Because they'll want to know everything too." Natsu answered.

"We'll be here for you, Natsu. We want to help you, too." Lisanna answered.

"Aye!" Happy agreed. Natsu let a small smile grace his face. The first true smile he'd smiled in over a year now.


	8. Chapter 8

**Just giving you some fair warning, some people could be see some of the scenes in this a little disturbing. I'm a bit of a sadist, so it was fine for me, but I don't think all the rules apply here. Lol. Anyway. It's so strange to be back on my old computer... I've missed it dearly...**

* * *

><p>Chapter 8<p>

The next came all too soon for Natsu, he was sitting down in the guild with everyone else, playing with his food more than eating it. He was dreading every minute of it, not only would he be talking to a complete stranger about what had happened to him, he was telling his friends as well.

They'd checked with Makarov, and he said that it'd be alright if they sat in with him, he'd even argue the case if the woman from the council didn't agree with them coming in. Natsu had spent the night in Lucy's house, not wanting to be left on his own. It was probably the only time Lucy didn't argue with him over it.

"Natsu Dragneel?" An elderly woman said standing at the end of the table he was sat at, he noted that all of his friends tensed at the sight of her, meaning his time had come. "Let's go."

"My friends are coming too." Natsu informed her. She eyed him up and down, before hesitantly nodding. _That was a lot easier than I thought_ Gray thought to himself, but got up anyway and followed the rest to Makarov's office, where the questioning would be held.

Sitting down on chairs that the master had placed out for them, she elderly woman didn't hesitate in beginning.

"My name is Judy," She introduced to begin with. "Now, tell me, how did they get to you? How did they kidnap you?"

"Lucy, Happy and me were taking a job out in Shirotsume town, just something simple like taking down some thieves." Natsu told her, he remembered the day well.

_"Lucy!" He'd screamed running towards her seeing a dark form behind her, she didn't have time to react and was knocked out. "What are you doing?"_

_ "Taking you," The man had informed him laughing. The man, Natsu later learned was nicknamed Gold for the vast amount of gold that he liked to 'acquire'._

_ "What?" Natsu said charging at him. "I'd never let you take me anywhere."_

_ "You have no choice in the matter." He laughed. Dodging Natsu's attack easily. The fight went on for some time, Natsu wearing out more and more as it went on, but still only managing to land a few hits on the man that was trying to kidnap him. Happy had been knocked out when Gold had tried to take Natsu out, but the hit got Happy instead._

_ Growing tired of a fight he knew there was not going to be end to. Gold picked up Lucy off the floor._

_ "So, Salamander. Will you come with us if I bargain with you?" He asked. Running a finger over Lucy's breasts._

_ "Get off her, you pervert!" Natsu shouted, running at him._

_ "Nuh uh, you touch me, and I'll take her instead and do very good things with her." He smiled leeringly down at Lucy. "She's quite a find, how did you get her?"_

_ "Look at her like that again, and I'll kick the shit out of you." Natsu threatened._

_ "Oh, but dear Salamander, the only thing you need to do to ensure that she remains… intact is to come with me." Gold told him, running a finger up Lucy's leg till it reached the bottom of her skirt. "Or I could kill her. That could be fun. Kill her then do some nice things with her body. I bet the boys back there would love it too."_

_ Natsu stared in horror as the man before him laughed. Natsu was beginning to know that there was no other way out, no other way to save Lucy. He wouldn't be able to live with himself knowing that he'd Lucy die. And even after all this fighting, he'd not really done any damage to the man. One last go, he'd thought to himself. He had to try and get Lucy out of his hands. _

_ Running at the man, and just as he got Lucy out of his hands, he said, "Wrong answer." And suddenly Natsu couldn't move his body, he was stuck. His arms moved on his own and he dropped Lucy onto the floor._

_ "You took too long, Gold." Another man said coming from out of the shadows. It was Bryon, or nicknamed Puppet. "Now knock him out so we can take him back." _

_ Natsu had no decision in the matter and was knocked out before he could try and get himself out of the situation._

_ The next time he woke up, he had the bracelet on his wrist, and was on a train. That was when they 'trained' him that motion sickness was not acceptable._

Lucy shivered at the story Natsu had told of what happened after she was knocked out, now she felt twice as bad that Natsu got kidnapped, it felt like it was all her fault.

Judy noted that they were dealing with people with immense magical power, and a strange kind of magic they were using. Writing the information down on her notepad she had brought with her to note down important details she could get out of the boy.

"And when did the torture start?" She asked not hesitating in her question.

"After the 'training' on the train, I'd passed out, and woken up in my cell which would be my 'room' for the year. They gave me a tour of the place, you know, to make it seem like I would be living like a human and all… Then they took me to the arena, where I would be expected to fight to the death with other mages. When I told them I refused to do it. They gave me this." Natsu said, holding up his shirt, which now covered his entire torso because of the scars. He showed them a long jagged line down the side of his body, starting under his arm and working its way down to his hip. "But they used this bracelet; it sends out waves of electricity and attacks the nerves in your body. But, the major stuff started happening after I was put to fight someone. He looked so defenceless, and I refused to kill him. So I knocked him out."

_Natsu stood above the now unconscious mage in front of him._

_ "Now kill him." Bryon ordered him._

_ "No." A shockwave of pain hit him. "I won't do it." Natsu cried out as the pain intensified, the wound that had been carved into his side not so long ago reopened and blood spilt out._

_ "Kill him or you'll expect a world of pain."_

_ "I won't hill him." Natsu replied defiantly. Bryon walked towards him, Natsu felt a lick of fear running in his stomach, but he wasn't going to let it get to him. Pinning him down and forcing him to walk out of the arena, Bryon took him towards the room that Natsu would learn was the torture room. In the room, whilst Bryon used his magic to hold Natsu down, large men beat at him, and whipped him. And as Natsu continued to say no, the more intense the pain got. They began with pulling each finger nail for every no Natsu gave them till they left him with no finger nails. They continued with whipping. After they had finished, Natsu was barely conscious enough for them to return him to his room. He had a broken arm, a broken rib and numerous other injuries decorating his body._

_ They laughed as they left him there to fall unconscious from the wounds._

"It only got worse from there. They would do it daily. But I refused to give in to them. After a while, I lost track of how long I'd been there, the only way I'd be able to tell a day had gone from the high window in the battle arena." Lucy was now crying, as well as Happy. Lisanna and Gray had a look of complete shock on their faces whilst Erza hid her emotions away from the others.

"When was it the first time they raped you?" She asked him.

"Can you please tell me what any of this has to do with getting to them and taking them out?" Natsu asked angrily.

"We just need a statement of what happened to you and to get a better perspective on what kind of people they are." She answered without hesitation.

"I can't really remember how long I'd been there before they'd started _that_…" Natsu began.

"So they performed this act on you more than once?" Judy asked.

"Uh, yes." Natsu answered hesitantly.

"How often did they do it to you?" She asked.

"In what sense do you want me answer?" Natsu asked. There was a little more to it than just forcing him to have sex.

"What do you mean?" Judy asked.

"Uh, you're forcing me to be kinda blunt here. Do you mean the actual raping or you know... all the other sexual stuff that I was forced to do?" Natsu asked, staring down at his hands.

There was a silence following Natsu's question. Though, they figured by the point, they should have assumed there would have been more to it. Natsu himself hadn't been very open about what they'd actually done to him.

"Just include everything to the best of your ability." She answered him.

"Uh, right. Well, I'm not sure how long ago it first started, because every day just didn't count, you lost track of how long you were there." Natsu started, "It was after a really bad beating, I think they must have been growing tired with me…"

_"Listen here, Salamander, you will go out there and kill him," Bryon shouted at him._

_ "No." Natsu argued back, "I won't do it. I'll never do it."_

_ "Well, we think we've got a way of changing that." Bryon smirked._

_ "Something other than beating the crap out of me everyday? Noticed that one isn't working so well?" Natsu taunted, though looking back on it now, he wished he'd never said anything, but knowing it wouldn't have changed anything, because he still would have refused to kill._

_ "You're just asking for this one, and have been for a while, Salamander."_

"That's… when he did it to me the first time." Natsu said. He did not want to go into too much detail on the account of what happened. "It happened quite often after that. Different men would come in, I'd get beaten, and when I was so beaten I couldn't move, they'd do that to me. But there'd be different occasions, where they would make me do things to them."

"Can you tell me what they made you do?"

"They would… uh… push me onto my knees, pull their pants down, and tell me if I didn't suck it, they'd come to Fairy Tail and kill each and everyone there. They told me they'd make me watch… this happened almost daily." Natsu replied, looking straight down to the shaking hands placed on his lap.

"So, how do we find them?" Judy asked, breaking the tense silence.

"You're going to need to be covert about it. They're going to come back for me soon, they'll be sick of waiting, they'll want me back sooner because of Bryon's failure." Natsu told her.

"So what do you think we should do?" She asked him.

"Wait till I go back to them before going for them."


	9. Chapter 9

**So, there is actually a legitimate reason why I didn't upload this sooner. I kinda hit a road block. Not here, but a few chapters ahead. More like two, on chapter 11. I knew what I wanted to do, just couldn't get it down in words. So, I thought, that I wasn't going to upload more of this until I'd actually finished the chapter. So here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy! And thank you to everyone who read/reviewed/alerted/favourited. It makes me so happy to read them, get the emails etc. This fic actually has over 1,000 hits now. I know it's different to the 'visistor' thing, but that's not the point, it means my fic has been clicked on more than 1,000 times. It's such a great feeling!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 9<p>

"Wait till I go back to them before going for them." Natsu said looking at the faces of shock crossed everyone's face.

"Wait, what do you mean? You can't do that!" Lucy argued.

"It's the only way you're going to get to them. They're going to think that they've won." Natsu replied. "Though, you'll have to leave me for a week or so first."

"You're actually volunteering yourself to go back to that hellhole?" Erza shouted.

"It's only way you're going to be able to take them down." Natsu replied he feared going back as much as they feared for him, but he couldn't live in fear anymore. His determination to see them get what's deserved to them overweighing the fear.

"So, how are we supposed to find you? We weren't able to find you before and we searched everywhere." Gray asked as the council elder watched all of them talk between themselves with a stony face.

"That's easy. Whilst I was in there, I made a friend. He was certainly special alright. It works in kind of the same way they can talk to me." Natsu said.

"Wait, they talk to you?" The council woman asked.

"It's some sort of mind connection magic, they put it on everyone when they get there. They taunt you with it. But they can't hear what you're thinking, or see what you're doing or talking about." Natsu explained. "But this friend of mine, he made it so that you can see everything and hear everything too."

"And he taught it to you?" Lisanna asked.

"Yes," Natsu answered.

"Where is he now?" Erza asked.

"Dead." Natsu replied looking down at his hands. "He was killed in one of the fights."

The statement followed an awkward silence in the room.

"There's only one problem though, since I'll have to keep the magic active all the time so you know where I am, you'll be able to see everything." Everyone understood what he said. They'd see everything that happened to him whilst he was there.

"We can deal with it!" Lucy said in determination. "If you've suffered with it for a year. Then what's a week to us?"

"It's not the same. Its different hearing about it than it is seeing it." Natsu replied.

"Then, it's something we can share with you. Something that can't be expressed with words." Lucy replied.

"So, who out of you wants the magic placed on them?" Natsu asked with a sigh, he knew that his friends wanted to help him, but this was something that they couldn't prepare themselves for.

"All of us will take it," Erza said.

Natsu looked at them in silence. He knew that would be their answer.

"Okay." He replied, looking at each individual face of determination.

"The council has not approved of this." Judy said the group finally seemed to realise that she was still in the room with them.

"It's the only way you're going to take them down, and Fairy Tail is going to want to be a part of whatever the council plans." Gray replied.

"Yeah, and do you see the council making plans here?" Happy added.

"It's our only option." Natsu added. "I'm not happy either about any of my friends seeing what I'm going to go through, but I can't see any other way. They'll be expecting a full frontal assault."

Walking up to everyone minus the council member in the room, Natsu cut his finger and let the blood drip for a while before walking up, and drawing a magic circle on each of their foreheads. "This might hurt a little…" He said and began some weird incantation, and suddenly the blood on their foreheads glowed and sunk into their head.

Gray, Lucy, Erza and Lisanna all felt a little pain, but nothing too bad and it was over.

"Okay, so from the moment I activate it, you'll be able to see where I am, and the only way the connection can be broken is if I break it myself, or if I die." Natsu explained.

"Will you be able to see where we are?" Erza asked.

"No. You'd each have to perform the spell back on me."

"Right, well, let's see how it's working, shall we?" He asked, and activated the spell. "If I walk out of the room, let's see if you can see what I'm seeing."

Natsu walked out of the room and stared at the door. _Can you all see and hear me? _He thought.

He heard a chorus of 'yes's and walked back into the room.

"Now, it's just to wait and see what they do." Natsu said, sitting back down on his chair.

"I'll gather up some of the royal army to be ready. Fairy Tail will have to warn us of when the attack will happen." Judy said, standing up.

"We'll make sure that it does." Erza replied, glad that the session was now over.

* * *

><p>That night, Natsu dreamt of the last time he'd seen his only friend whilst trapped.<p>

_"You can't take him!" Natsu shouted, staring up at Cain who smirked down at him._

_ "And why not, Little Salamander?" Cain taunted._

_ "You just can't. You're killing people off needlessly. What's the point?" Natsu argued only to be kicked in the stomach._

_ "Natsu, please stop! I'll go with them, just don't let yourself get more injured because of me." A young boy of around 16 years shouted._

_ "No, I won't let them take you. Never give up, Yuki." Natsu said looking at him from his position on the floor._

_ "Look at this, a little male bonding? Have we rubbed off on you, Natsu? Are you going to be more willing next time?" Cain laughed, bringing out the whip and continuously whipping Natsu, blood ran down his bare back, and old wounds reopened._

_ "I won't let you take him." Natsu said defiantly, standing up and standing in front of Yuki, who had been thrown in the same cell as Natsu when he'd arrived what seemed like forever ago now. Yuki had been there to witness everything. There were no secrets between them now._

_ "You keep saying that, but you can barely even stand." Cain taunted._

_ "I won't. I'll never let you take him." Cain laughed at Natsu's outburst, enjoying the look of determination on the bleeding boys face. But this couldn't go on anymore, he needed the kid fighting. They needed a good fight. _

_ Smacking the whip across Natsu's face, he laughed as Natsu fell to the floor._

_ "C'mere, boy." Cain laughed and grabbed a hold of Yuki and dragged him out of the cell._

_ 'Remember what I'd taught you, you have my memories. Tell my mother what happened to me.'_ _Yuki thought to Natsu, as he watched Natsu hold out his hand as if hoping that it would save his friend. He couldn't bear to see him walk to his death like that. And he'd be alone again. Alone in this place he was being forced to call home._

* * *

><p>Natsu jumped awake, startled. He hadn't thought about that day in a while, he hated to think of that day, it was the day he was most powerless to help someone who was close to him. He looked down to the bracelet and cursed it. It kept most of his magic power locked away meaning he couldn't use his flames. And that made him feel week.<p>

Lucy, Gray, Lisanna and Erza all woke up from the same dream. The same dream that Natsu had. And all of them felt the same thing. Determination. Determination to take those people out and to make sure that no one else was harmed the same way that their friend was and all the others trapped in that place.

* * *

><p>A week had now passed, with Makarov now made aware of the plans. Though, not accepting, he saw their logic, and went along with the promise from Natsu that he would be as fine as he could be, a tense silence hung around the guild. Each member waiting for the moment that Natsu's tormentors would come back to claim him. Every now and then, they'd see Natsu suddenly stopping what he was doing and grabbing the bracelet on his wrist. Its design simple and plain black and clung to his wrist, but always causing their friend pain.<p>

After the moment would pass he'd smile at them and say 'It's nothing, it just shows that their getting impatient.'

They would find out soon enough just how impatient they had become.

Night had fallen over Magnolia, and Natsu stood in the middle of the street, gripping onto his arm, his breathing harsh, he was still staying at Lucy's, the girl was standing there next to him, not knowing what to do to help him.

"Natsu…"Happy said, looking at his friend, his worry evident in his voice.

"I'll be fine, Happy. Don't worry about me." He replied in between harsh breaths. "They'll be here soon. They've been using this a lot more these last few days than they have since I left."

* * *

><p>Natsu and Happy slept peacefully on the couch in Lucy's house. For once, Natsu's mind was dream-free and he wasn't plagued by the memories of his time away. Both of them blissfully unaware of the man creeping throughout the house and walking straight into Lucy's room.<p>

A sudden scream woke up the both of them from their slumber.

"Lucy!" Natsu shouted running to her room. And that's where he stood. The man that had haunted Natsu's dreams for the last month and a half. Cain.

"Well, well, well, Little Salamander. We meet again." He laughed.

"What're you doing with Lucy?" Natsu growled.

"She your whore?" Cain laughed. "I'm trying to recreate a scene here. Remember when Gold and Bryon first came to get you? This was sort of similar to how it happened then, don't you think?"

Natsu didn't find the situation funny at all. He figured they'd just come for him, and take him back.

"Leave Lucy alone." Natsu said.

"How's that friend of yours? Yuki was it? You two were so close." Cain mocked.

Natsu didn't answer.

"Oh, yeah, I put him for death. I knew the little weak bastard wouldn't stand a chance against any of the other fighters back home." Cain said, his ever present smirk gracing his face.

"Just give Lucy back." Natsu begged quietly. "Please."

"To who? You're coming with us." Cain said. Lucy looked between the two, tears in her eyes. She knew that this was going to happen, but knowing the torture that her friend was going to go through again because of her.

"I'll go with you if you leave her here." Natsu replied.

"That's a good, Little Salamander, goes without a fight now." Cain smirked, dropping Lucy harshly on the floor.

Cain walked to the door and turned around to watch Natsu silently following, leaving Lucy in tears on the floor.

_'Don't worry, Lucy. Everything will be okay._' Natsu thought directly to her. '_Everyone, they've come back for me. Get the story off Lucy. See you soon_' Natsu said as he followed Cain back to the place that had caused him so much torment.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey! Hows it going? So, as you could probably tell, this fic is probably coming to a close now. Not that it was ever intended to be super long. I seriously don't have the time for something long. On a random side note, have any of you read Under the Flames? Isn't that just like the most amazing thing you have ever read? I love the little twists going on in it. Kinda like how I'm really getting into Guilty Crown at the moment. I've been following that episode from the beginning, but that anime is seriously starting to pick up now, it's not something I'd usually watch, it's sorta Code Geass-esque. But enough of my rambling. Thank you to everyone to read/reviewed/alerted/favourited. The view count is now actually over 2,000. I'm so happy!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 10<p>

Erza, Gray and Lisanna all woke up simultaneously from what they'd seen. They'd all seen Natsu walk off with the man, and all felt a pang of guilt. Now that the plan was in motion, they all felt terrible for agreeing to Natsu's plan and allowing him to go back to where he was tortured for a year.

Running towards Lucy's house, they saw her and Happy crying on the doorstep.

"Lucy!" They all shouted.

"H-hey, guys." She hiccupped, looking at them through her tears.

"We need to go and inform the master, so he can tell the council." Erza said, grabbing Lucy into her arms, whilst Lisanna picked up Happy and they all ran to the guild knowing that Makarov would be at the guild. He always knew when something bad like this would happen.

* * *

><p>Natsu followed after Cain, fear creeping up his spine with every extra step he took. He knew why he was doing it, but the more he walked with the man in front of him, the more he began to doubt that he'd been thinking straight when he made the plan. But he kept himself aware, knowing that someone with the link would be keeping track of where he was going, he relaxed a little knowing that even if they weren't, his memory would be stored inside theirs as long as the magic was kept active.<p>

Natsu knew they were close now to that place, they'd been on two trains, and had walked a fair distance. Natsu vaguely remembered where it was from his time when he'd escaped, though at that moment, he just ran as far and as fast as he could, not really paying attention to where he was until he thought he was at a safe distance away.

"Welcome home, Little Salamander." Cain laughed. "We've even reserved your room for you."

Cain led Natsu down the familiar hallways down to the cells where all the wizards were held. All of them looking beaten, bruised and defeated. All with the same haunted look in their eyes. All of them knew it was either kill or be killed. A rule Natsu would never learn to accept.

Walking to his cell, Natsu was thrown inside, with Cain locking the door behind him. Natsu turned to him in the dim light of the room.

"Now, it's time for your punishment for leaving us like that." Cain smirked. "You don't know how much we've missed you."

* * *

><p>"They've already started on him." Erza said looking at everyone in the guild. It was now around noon, and everyone at the guild that wasn't on a mission was there, all listening on the conversation was partaking. All of them already feeling the loss of their once loud-mouthed dragon slayer.<p>

"And it's bad." Gray added.

"How bad?" Makarov asked.

"It's just 'punishment' as they've put it so far. But Natsu's barely holding up. They haven't started anything… else yet." Gray replied, everyone looked at them with sadness in their eyes, but determination hung behind it, their friend needed them, and they were going to make sure that they were going to get to him.

"How long until the magic council said they would be here?" Erza asked.

"They said they'd be here by the end of the day." Makarov said.

"Good." Erza replied. "I fear we may need to go and get Natsu before it gets any worse."

* * *

><p>Natsu's vision was swimming in and out of darkness as he fell to the cold, hard floor. Cain stood above him with the same maniacal grin that was always on his face, he knew what was about to come. He knew that his friends could see everything that was happening to him. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but he didn't know much longer he could survive this. In the month and a half that he hadn't been here, he figured he must have gotten used to not being in so much pain.<p>

"Little Salamander." Cain started. "I'm disappointed in you. When you last left, it would take a bit more to beat you down."

Natsu didn't answer; he couldn't find the strength to even glare back at Cain.

"Maybe you need a different kind of lesson." Cain laughed, and crouched down to Natsu's face, pressing his lips against Natsu's. "Maybe this will help." He breathed over Natsu's face, and Natsu tried not to flinch at the strong smell that overcame his senses. If only he could use his fire magic. But the time was not right, and the seals placed on him to stop him from using his fire magic were not yet broken down enough.

He just needed more time.

Natsu watched with blank eyes as Cain tauntingly undressed him and himself. He knew what was coming. He just wished that Lucy, Gray, Erza and Lisanna wouldn't be too hurt by what they saw.

* * *

><p>"This is terrible; we can't just stay here and watch as this happens!" Lucy shouted, looking at everyone else at the table with tears in her eyes.<p>

"We all feel the same, Lucy, but Natsu's strong, and he can take it." Erza reasoned.

"But how much more can he take before he's gone?" Lucy cried. "No one should have to go through this."

"We know, but we just need to wait for the right moment before we strike." Erza replied. "Natsu's being strong for us, so we must be strong for him."

* * *

><p>Natsu lay on the floor emotionlessly. He could smell his blood all over the floor; he was cold, wet and naked. But the thing that bothered him the most was the dirty feeling. He hated feeling like this. But he knew resistance would only result in more pain. He doesn't get why they just don't kill him like they would have done anyone else that ran away or defied them this much.<p>

"Little Salamander." Cain said. "Don't look so torn up, you had it coming to you."

Cain laughed; Natsu didn't even have the strength to look up to him.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" He shouted, lifting Natsu's head up. Natsu's vision was swimming, but he could see the anger clouding his eyes. "You deserve a good beating for this. Boys!"

Men walked into the cell, all with the same maniacal look as Cain. Meet the new boys; they're here to make you feel nice and welcome."

* * *

><p>"We need to go to him now." Erza commanded. "We cannot waste anymore time. He's dying there."<p>

The guild looked at her with a stunned face. Lucy, Gray, Erza and Lisanna all saw what had happened to him, the rape, and the torture, but what they were seeing now was even worse. Natsu was barely conscious. There were men all around him. He was just about barely holding on, the thoughts of his friends circling around his head.

* * *

><p>And Natsu lost consciousness listening to the laughing of the men around him. He'd lost. He didn't know how much longer he could go on.<p>

* * *

><p>"We have to go." Erza reaffirmed. Running out of the guild.<p>

"We have to wait for the magic council." Makarov said.

"Stuff the magic council." Gray shouted. "We just lost contact with Natsu. That means one of two things. He's either stopped the connection or he's died."


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, so I'm back! ... again. Lol. Anyway, here's the next chapter. There is a certain air of uncertainty when the next one will be up. I have written it, but it's a case of finding the time. I've got to read Dracula by tomorrow (being the student that I am, I left it until 7 in the night the day before I'm supposed to be reading it to actually pick the book up...), then A Midsummer Nights Dream for Wednesday, which leaves me no time to write the chapter that comes after the next one... Yeah, my life is pretty full at the moment. But anyway, I'm personally not too fond of this chapter. It's the one where I had a writers block, and could not for the life of me think of what to write for it. Well, I knew what I wanted, just couldn't put it to words. Moving on from my ranting. Thank you to everyone who read/reviewed/alerted/favourited! Hope you enjoy ths one too!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 11<p>

A deathly silence hung in the guild. A look of extreme worry crossed every members face. Happy cried silently in Lucy's arms, as everyone stood frozen.

"Then we must leave now." Makarov said in a grave voice. "Natsu must be saved."

A chorus of agreements met Makarov's ear as he rose from the counter of the bar he sat on.

"Mira, you stay here and look after the guild, and inform anyone who comes back. The rest who are able enough to will follow Erza, Gray, Lucy and Lisanna who know the way to where Natsu is being held. Though, some will have to stay behind to help Mira to look after the guild." Makarov ordered moving through the crowd of people.

"Let's go!" Erza shouted, walking quickly out the guild, everyone else followed.

* * *

><p>"They took two train, one changed at Shirotsume town, and another two towns over." Erza explained, walking up to the ticket booth and paying for her ticket.<p>

"So, what? We're just going to get a train to save Natsu?" One of the guild members shouted.

"It is the fastest way to get to him. He's a lot further away than you think," Erza explained.

"He'll be fine. He's Natsu, of course." Lucy added.

Reluctantly, the members of Fairy Tail bought their tickets and took up most of the cabin on the train, earning strange looks from passengers on the train.

"And now we wait." Makarov said, _please be safe, Natsu_ rang in everyone's minds as the train departed Magnolia station.

* * *

><p>Throughout the journey, the four had been receiving blank images. They would be scattered, and pain filled, and no one knew if they were really Natsu's vision or if it was memories. They couldn't grasp the situation, and none knew whether to see it s a sign of hope that Natsu was still alive, or it was his final moments before his death.<p>

They'd reached their last stop, and began the walk towards the foreboding place that was holding their Natsu captive.

"So, now that we're here. We'll take this sneakily." Makarov ordered. "If we make too much of an entrance, they'll know it's us and make sure Natsu is most certainly dead before we manage to get to him."

"Right." Erza replied. "Let's go."

Splitting off into smaller groups, Fairy Tail went in search of gaps in security for them to sneak in with. Erza, Gray, Lucy and Happy went in one group, whereas Lisanna volunteered to stay with the master in case the link took up again and that the master would be able to find where Natsu was.

"Right. Let's go." Erza said looking at the gap in the security.

"I wonder how Natsu got out?" Lucy wondered aloud getting into the dark building.

"Knowing him, he probably punched his way out." Gray snorted. All four members of Fairy Tail stared in horror at the scenes before them, people locked up in cages, shadows covering their eyes. They heard a fight in the distance, screaming down the end of the hallway.

It was dark in the building. The hallways and cells lit up only by fire torches positioned on the wall.

"From what we saw of Natsu getting in here, he was not far from here." Erza commented, looking out into the hallway to see if there was anyone coming. "It's clear. Lets go. Look as calm as possible and stay on guard."

"Right!" They all answered and walked along the hallways that should not seem familiar to them. They looked into cells as they passed, each person looked on at them with looks of fear, believing them to be there to torment them. But they all saw which cell they were heading to, and they all felt sorry for the pink haired mage that was in that cell. They had all seen him be brought back, but he had not left the cell since. They had begun to fear for the worst, that the boy in the cell could not longer take the harsh treatment that was given to him, and succumbed to death. Not a sound had come from the cell for a while, having no idea of how long has passed since the boy had been brought back.

They reached his cell, not even a light was to be found in his cell, it was bathed in complete darkness. Even the motionless body that laid on the ground.

"Natsu." Happy whispered. Erza picked the lock on the cell and let themselves in, all standing above Natsu's motionless body.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried, collapsing to the ground and hugged the body of her best friend hoping to at least feel the small rise and fall of his chest. Anything to comfort the celestial mage.


	12. Chapter 12

**It's been a strange day. I went to a lecture on Grammar and Punctuation. That was interesting, to a degree. I learnt was a Fragment was (Though, I shouldn't really have an excuse for this, as I am an English student...) and how to correctly use a semi-colon. Good times were had. Then, I went back to my flat. Watched the extended version of LOTR: The Two Towers. Many good times were had. Did you know there's a place in Middle Earth called Edoras :D Okay, it's not the same, but the similarities made me laugh. And now, I'm sitting in Student Halls of Residence without working water, even more good times were had. As students most of them have already turned to buying alcohol instead of drinking water. LOL, I'm so creased (this means laughing really hard, by the way, people question me on it all the time, it's apparently a very 'Welsh' thing to say...) by this. Just thought I'd share my day with you... hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 12<p>

"Natsu!" Lucy cried, her tears falling down her cheeks.

"Let me see him." Erza ordered, moving towards Natsu and placing her two fingers to his neck. "He's got a pulse. Just barely."

"What can we do for him?" Happy asked.

"I don't know. His breathing is shallow, he's barely surviving." Erza explained.

"We need to get him out of here, now." Gray said.

"But what about everyone else in here? The other people trapped here?" Lucy asked.

"We need to get Natsu to help first, he should be our priority here." Gray replied.

"We need to help the others too." Lucy argued.

Suddenly, a loud gasp was heard. "What are you doing here?" Natsu asked, struggling to sit up.

"Natsu!" They shouted.

"Quick. Hide. You shouldn't be here. They're coming back." Natsu warned, staring at each of them.

"Then we'll fight for you. The others are here too." Erza argued.

"No, listen to me. That plan isn't going to work here. Help the others escape whilst I'm here, then come back for me. That's all we've got at the moment." Natsu reasoned.

"And how do you expect us to accept that? You were nearly dead five minutes ago. We can't just leave you here to die." Gray argued.

"I'm not going to die. They're coming back to put me to fight. So, whilst me and the other guy are fighting, they'll be watching and security will be lower. Get the others out of here, and I'll start the attack on them." Natsu whispered, hearing the steps getting closer to his cell.

"But you can't fight. You said the bracelet blocked your powers." Erza replied.

"Don't worry. I've been working on that. Just hide. They're here." Natsu said, lying back down on the floor pretending to be unconscious. Hiding in the shadows, Erza, Happy, Lucy and Gray watched as shadows appeared at Natsu's cell.

"Wake up, Little Salamander." Cain ordered, kicking Natsu in the gut. Natsu grunted and opened his eyes to him. "It's your go."

Cain picked Natsu up by his hair and threw him out of the room, quickly following after him.

"You'll be fighting a good one today. He won't show you no mercy." Cain laughed dragging Natsu along with him.

* * *

><p>Erza, Gray, Happy and Lucy all looked at each other.<p>

"What should we do first?" Lucy asked.

"We'll free the prisoners first, like Natsu said to do. If we come across any members of Fairy Tail, inform them of the plan. They'll still be finding Natsu," Erza explained.

"The master should know he's okay now, the link is back." Gray added. "He should know what to do too."

"Okay, lets go." Lucy said, determined.

"Aye!" Happy added, flying out of the room.

* * *

><p>Natsu allowed himself to be dragged to the battle arena, and hoped and prayed that no one from Fairy Tail would be spotted along the way there. They'd been lucky so far, but luck couldn't get them far here.<p>

He wasn't stupid enough to think that just Erza, Gray, Lucy and Happy had come for him. They'd probably got the whole guild, knowing them.

_'I was probably stupid to think that they could sit there and watch me be tortured for a week too._' Natsu thought, he knew he hadn't been here that long. They'd probably come the instant that the connection had been cut off. But that was something he couldn't control, his life had come dangerously close to ending, and they would have known that.

Looking up, and seeing the battle arena instilled some form of fear in Natsu, he'd been taught to fear this room with all his might. He couldn't bear looking at all the people who came in here, some of them never to see anything after this room, either. The thought saddened Natsu, but hope also prevailed, as this would be the last fight that this arena would ever see. Natsu would be the last one to see this room.

"Now, this is your opponent. We kept him nice for you." Cain smiled that ever-present smile. The boy that stood before him was big, muscles rippling under the skin; Natsu had seen this boy before he'd left. He had a menacing face on him. The treatment here had gotten to him quickly. "He was the one to also kill that little friend of yours."

Natsu glared at Cain.

"That's that little look of defiance that everyone loves." Cain laughed. "Will that be your look when you kill him too?"

As much as Natsu wanted to end the boy that was in front of him, he knew he wouldn't kill him. No one deserved that, and he refused to end the boy's life here.

"No." Natsu answered simply. "I won't kill him."

Natsu received another kick for that answered, blood dripped from his mouth.

"Now, Jyuugo. Remember, don't be nice." Cain ordered and walked to the side of the arena to watch the impending battle.

_'I can't fight him properly. I need to save some strength to help the others take these bastard down.'_ Natsu thought and stood up.

* * *

><p>Unaware to Natsu, members of the Fairy Tail guild were hidden among the stands of the battle arena, watching the scene before them unfold. Makarov gripped onto the bars of the stand tightly, and watched as one of his children stood to fight.<p>

"Master." Lisanna said. "We need to go and help the others release the captives."

They had come across Erza and the others on they're way here, and they had informed them of what Natsu had told them to do. But Makarov couldn't take his eyes away from Natsu, and looked on. Makarov was silently proud at Natsu, he'd been through so much, but yet still put the needs of others before his own. He knew that the only way to secure everyone else's safety was to get them out of here. But he hated what Natsu had to go through to make sure that everyone else was safe.

"Let's go. We'll get the others to safety, then come back for Natsu." Makarov replied, letting go of the bars and walking back towards the cells where the others were trying to get other captives out of the building.

"There's been a safety area set up not too far out from the building to take these people to, we need to hurry. We can't let that fight go on for too long." Erza said in an orderly voice, leading beaten down prisoners.

One thing they hadn't accounted for was the extreme fear these people felt. Some refused to move from their cells in fear of being caught and killed. No amounts of words lead them to believe that they would be able to live freely after today. And that was true to some extent, part of their beings would always be held here in their memories. But after numerous reassurances from Erza they gave in and finally, and slowly, began filing out of their cells.

"How many left do you think?" Gray asked, leading another out.

"I don't know. Don't you find it a little strange that no one has come to check on the prisoners?" Erza asked.

"It has been quiet. Let's just use it to our advantage at the moment, and get these people out." Gray replied. Lucy was some ways back with Happy getting more people out. She had called Loke out to help getting prisoners out.

* * *

><p>The fight was harder than Natsu had first thought. It wasn't going as well as he'd planned, he was using more of his strength than he'd first thought he would need. He looked to the side to see Cain smirking in the shadows. He was enjoying seeing Natsu try to defend himself. <em>'But I can't just knock him out. I need this fight to go on as long as possible. They need time to get everyone out'<em> Natsu thought, thinking of his friends getting away everyone they possibly could.

Dodging another attack, Natsu slipped his legs under the Jyuugo's causing him to fall over. Cain laughed from the sidelines.

"This might be very entertaining, but no one is dying here." Cain said, his grin falling of his face in an instant, an ominous aura filling the room.

In his distraction, Natsu didn't notice Jyuugo get back up, and felt a hard punch to the side of his head. Falling to the ground, Natsu's vision swam. His body already beaten from the torture, the fighting, he felt his head and noticed that it was bleeding.

"Damn it." _'Hurry up, guys. I don't know how much longer I can hold out here._' He thought, knowing his friends could hear it.

* * *

><p>'<em>Hurry up, guys. I don't know how much longer I can hold out here.' <em>They all heard Natsu think.

"This isn't looking good. We need to move." Erza said, getting more prisoners out of the cells with more haste.

"We must be close to the end now." Lucy sighed, walking along with them, prisoners following, all with the same look of fear decorating their face. They'd gathered about fifty prisoners so far with the help of the master and Lisanna who had joined them not too long ago.

"You four go to Natsu. The rest of us will continue to lead the prisoners out." Makarov ordered. Take out any enemies as you get to him." Makarov ordered, leaving Erza, Lucy, Gray and Happy to walk in the opposite direction, only to face a new problem.

"Cain. We've been infiltrated. The prisoners are escaping!" A man said running into the battle arena.

"How many have gotten out?" He demanded, he didn't at all seem fazed by the idea.

"Most of them, its Fairy Tail. They're letting everyone out." He replied.

_'Damn it. You've been spotted._' Natsu thought, looking at Cain.

"Well, well, Little Salamander. Looks like they came for you." Cain said, his smile jumping back onto his face. "I guess we should leave them a lovely present."


	13. Chapter 13

**There is actually no reasonable excuse why it took me so long to get this chapter up. Life seems to have caught up with me. I totally had my Friday night planned to writing this fic, then I was invited out to Mosh, which is a metal/rock nightclub, where I proceeded to get stupidly drunk. So I spent all of my Saturday with a really bad hangover. Then it started to snow, and you know us Brits, our lives just stop when it snows. I spent most of my Saturday night watching this huge snowball fight outside my halls of residence. It was quite funny. So, this brings me to today. Good times, eh? Thank you to everyone who's read/reviewed/alerted/favourited. I'm really grateful that you like the story! I hope you enjoy this one too :D**

* * *

><p>Chapter 13<p>

"Let's leave them a lovely present." The instant fear had filled Natsu's being, fear that was trained to spur at anything Cain said. Natsu tried to resist it; he tried to get his defences up. This would be his last fight against these people, and he would not do it on fear. He would not let them win.

Natsu was tired. He could feel the exhaustion running through his body. He was tired mentally and physically. Tired of being afraid, tired of constantly getting beaten on. He needed to change that, and the only way to freedom was to take these guys down.

"You have nothing to fight for, Little Salamander. Remember you are always ours."

* * *

><p>"Intruders!" A henchman shouted, and ran down the corridor towards the battle arena. Looking around, the team saw another few of Natsu's tormentors lining the hallway.<p>

"How could we not have noticed them?" Erza shouted.

"We've been with you the whole time." One of them laughed. "So, you're the elite Fairy Tail, but you can't even sense the presence of your enemy. We've had multiple opportunity to take you down, but this is just so much more entertaining."

* * *

><p>Natsu stood against Cain, his hands balled into fists.<p>

"How sweet, you actually think you have a chance against me?" Cain said. "If you didn't have a chance when you first got here, what makes you think you have a chance now?"

"My friends will help me!" Natsu shouted, charging at Cain, his motivation stronger now than it had been in over a year.

Cain dodged Natsu's attack easily, and continued to do as Natsu kept throwing punches.

_'Now's the time, I'm not going to get another chance to do it.'_ Natsu stood completely still, watching Cain for any signs of movement, and began chanting, he could feel the fire spreading through his body, a painful effort to break through the seals preventing him from using them. Screaming as pain encompassed his body, and a fire broke through.

Natsu remembered a time when Yuki was with him.

_ "It's strange, you know? How they've only put the seals on you." Yuki said absentmindedly, looking Natsu in the eye._

_ "How come? They just know how amazing I am, and it's their away of stopping me." Natsu laughed, though the laughter didn't catch in his eyes, as it once would have._

_ "There's a way to break that kind of seal." Yuki replied ignoring Natsu's arrogance. "But it takes time."_

_ "How would you do it?" Natsu asked, looking at Yuki with dead seriousness._

Opening his eyes, Natsu looked at Cain who stood above him, preparing to strike him.

Rolling on the floor and dodging Cain's attack. Natsu got up panting. "'There's a way to break that kind of seal' he said to me. And he told me. The bastard always knew more than he let on to me. He told me 'take it slowly, and feed what little magic you can feel behind the seal, so much so that you can feel the constant burn of the magic behind the seal. Remember the chant, and release all the pressure on the seal.' That's what he said to me. And now I'm ready to fight you, for real." Natsu said, looking at Cain with a dead seriousness in his eyes.

"You're right, that little fucker did know more than he let on. Something I know he passed on to you. But he's not the important one here, you are." Cain said, "Come, Little Salamander. This is your last dance."

Natsu glared at Cain, his fist ablaze. The most comforting heat coming from his hand, a heat that he had sorely missed this last year.

* * *

><p>"I hope you're ready, Titania, for your guild to crumble." The man laughed.<p>

"It is only polite to share your name first," Erza replied.

"My, my, how rude of me. You may call me Shade. For I am the master of Shadows." Shade laughed, and ran forward.

"Gray, Lucy, you take down the others, I'll deal with this one." Erza ordered, and requipped into her Purgatory armour and fought.

"Let's go, Lucy." Gray said, standing in formation to use his ice magic, whilst Lucy brought out Taurus's key, as Loke was still helping the master and Lisanna with the escaped prisoners.

* * *

><p>Natsu's magic was quickly draining. <em>'This isn't right. Something is wrong here<em>' Natsu thought, struggling to find more magic power in his body. He was already running low and the fight had even been going on that long.

_'It must be because I haven't fought with it in a while_' Natsu thought brushing off his powerlessness and continued to attack Cain.

Cain still stood tall and powerful with hardly a scratch from Natsu's onslaught of attacks leaving a mark on him. His smirk now slowly turned into a look of annoyance. He watched with a quiet interest as Natsu's power continued depleting. This was taking longer than necessary. He could hear the faint sounds of battle coming from down the hallway, indicating the Shade was still fighting too.

Oh, how he loved how this was going. He could not wait. The end was near, and a dawn of the new day would be in his favour.

* * *

><p>"Something's wrong here." Erza said, noticing her magic power depleting quicker.<p>

"Yeah," Lucy agreed, panting, she too had noticed the sudden and quick depletion of her magic power.

"You're only just now noticing this?" Shade laughed. "And I thought you Fairy Tale mages were supposed to be quick off the mark. Especially you, Titania."

"Tell me what's going on?" Erza demanded, not liking the situation at all.

* * *

><p>"Feeling a little tired, Little Salamander?" Cain asked mockingly.<p>

"Shut up." Natsu replied, panting.

"Though, I am surprised you've managed to last this long. It should have been over a long time ago."

"Tell me what's going on?" Natsu demanded.

* * *

><p>"Whilst standing in Dark Oberus's territory, people without our mark suffer. We have the advantage. Our marks suck the magic out of anyone who opposes us." Shade laughed, his hands preparing for battle.<p>

* * *

><p>"What?" Natsu asked, shock and fear running through his body. How come he had never heard of this before?<p>

"This was all done, our Little Salamander, to ensure our victory over one person in general. One person from the moment we knew of him became our target, and finally our plans could become more than a dream. A reality. That person was you!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey, I actually don't have an excuse for why this took me so long to get to you. I've litro only just finished writing this one. I've been mega busy. Uni seems to have caught up with me, which sucks. You'll have to accept my apology, the fight scenes (or in some cases, lack of) are pretty shitty. I'm more of a dialogue person than a fight person... Anyway, thanks for all the reviews/favourites/reads/alerts. I'm glad people are enjoying it so far! I have no idea when I can post the next chapter. My sister is over for the next couple of nights, so no writing time for me... :( Anyway. Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 14<p>

Natsu stood in complete silence, letting the news sink through his brain. But yet, he still did not understand.

Cain noticed the look of confusion on his face, and laughed.

"Let me put it simpler for you. You will join us, and we will take over the magical world." Cain said slowly.

"But why do you need me for that? You have plenty of fighters, why would you need me?" Natsu asked.

"None of them are as strong, or special as you. And none of them have a reputation like yours." Cain smirked. "The Salamander of Fairy Tail, known for his destructive abilities. Stands for what he believes in. And most certainly not evil."

"I don't get what you're trying to say?" Natsu asked.

"Can you imagine what the people would be like, if they saw, the Salamander of Fairy Tail, being the one to cause evil? We'll have reached the ears of many in hours, and not only that, people would fear you, and in turn fear us. We will become the new council of the magical world."

Natsu stared at the man before him, a look of horror now decorating his face. Like hell would he ever let himself be used like that, charging forward, ignoring all restraints on his magical power, he would bring him down. He would not let that happen.

* * *

><p>Outside the building, Makarov and the other members of Fairy Tail were running into a similar problem. They had been surrounded by members of Dark Oberus, and were fighting vehemently to protect themselves, and the fallen wizards who had succumbed to the fear and torture that had been inflicted to them.<p>

"We must take them down." Makarov ordered, walking calmly in front of the other members, prepared for the battle that would ensue.

"Aye!" They all shouted in return, charging at the captors.

* * *

><p>"We must fight on." Erza shouted, requipping to her Black Wing Armour. "We have to take them down. For Natsu!"<p>

"For Natsu!" Gray and Lucy shouted in return, charging back at their enemies, a new determination instilled within them.

"It's cute how you still manage to find the determination to fight, even when you know you have no hope of winning." Shade laughed.

"There's always a hope of winning when fighting people like you." Erza shouted, swinging her arm around and continuing her assault.

"We're Fairy Tale wizards. We won't lose to the likes of you!" Gray added, fighting her own opponent.

"Aye, Sir!" Happy agreed, throwing fruit at one of the enemies.

* * *

><p>Natsu ran and charged at Cain, "I'll never follow you!" He shouted and continued his onslaught of attacks.<p>

"Why don't you fight back? Are you too scared?" He taunted, running at Cain again, who only grinned at him in response.

"You want me to fight back?" Cain laughed. "I'll fight back."

Cain became the one on the offence, forcing Natsu to defend himself, his attacks quickly becoming stronger whilst Natsu weakened. His body gaining more and more injuries.

His vision swam, but Natsu refused to give in. He would not fall unconscious. Slipping underneath Cain, Natsu turned and punched him in the side, but Cain did not show a hint that the attack had hurt him at all.

"I will take you down. You won't hurt anyone anymore." Natsu said, standing up, his eyes full of determination.

Cain laughed, running forward and punching Natsu on the head, causing him to fall down once more. But Natsu stood back up, his magic power was running dangerously low, but that would not deter him. He would resort to just using his fists if it meant taking his tormentor down.

"You'll never win." Cain laughed. "There's more than just me here, and we all have plans for you."

"I have my friends. They'll protect me." Natsu replied, looking Cain in the eyes. His body was heavy, his breathing coming out in short gasps. He needed to finish this; otherwise he truly did not understand how this would turn out. He couldn't bare the idea of losing. He needed more magical power, but there was no fire around for him to eat. This was the only room in the building not lighted by flame torches.

Running into the hall was not an option. Natsu didn't know if all the captives had been set free from the cells and he did not want to bring the fight to them either. He was stuck on what to do. Stuck on how he was going to win this fight. But he would find a way. He would not lose here.

Gathering up his strength, Natsu ignored the dizzy feeling in his head and charged forward, fully intent on finishing this battle. His fist engulfed on what was one of the last few flames he had left.

Cain didn't react in time underestimating Natsu's speed; the punch doubled him over in pain. Natsu took this momentary weakness, and used it to his advantage. He punched Cain under the chin, sending him flying across the room. Running after him, Natsu continued with flaming punches and kicks, hoping that this would be his last fight. That he would no longer need to fight his man any longer.

Cain laid on the floor, beaten and bloody. This was not the situation he had in mind. The man was late. He should have been here by now. But still he got up off the floor, and looked at the bloodied Natsu and laughed.

"You will never truly beat us." Cain laughed. "You'll never truly be free of us."

"That's just something I'm going to have to deal with myself." Natsu replied, picking Cain up by the collar of his shirt, and ignited his fist, ready to deal the final blow.

"So what do we have here?" A man asked walking from the shadows. "Cain losing? Never thought I'd see the day."

"Who're you?" Natsu asked, turning to face the man.

"I'm the man who will be your downfall." The man stared at him with an expressionless face. He did not care for the boy, he was just needed. Someone they could not complete their plans without.

Natsu felt a strange sensation over coming his body. _Is my body finally giving out, have I finally lost?_ He thought to himself. _No, of course I haven't. I'm a member of Fairy Tail. I won't lose so easily._

Natsu went to move his arm, but found that he couldn't move it.

"What's wrong with my body? It won't move." Natsu shouted.

"That would be me." The man laughed and walked towards Natsu.

* * *

><p>Erza had just beaten Shade, it was tougher than he had ever imagined, and drew her strength from the belief that everything would be alright. She saw Natsu fighting, but he'd suddenly stopped. Something was wrong with him; he was looking at some other man. The man was moving closer to him.<p>

"We need to get to Natsu. Now!" Erza ordered running forward.

* * *

><p>Natsu felt the slow take over of his body. You'll never control me." Natsu argued.<p>

"It's true that I can only take over people with broken spirits. But yours is the best one." The man said softly.

"What do you mean? I'm fine. I'm not broken." Natsu argued.

"Look at yourself. You've been caught up in a world of torture for the last year. Remember how frightened you were? How you couldn't stand to be touched." He said, running his hand down Natsu's body. Natsu felt the shiver of fear, but pushed it quickly away.

"The fear of what tomorrow would bring. Of if you'd ever feel freedom." He said punching Natsu. Memories were floating underneath the surface. Memories of his time imprisoned here. The beatings, the rape. The fights. All floating through his mind. Fear creeped up his spine. He could no longer see the world around him. His memories over taking him. _Cut off the connection! Cut off the connection! They might be able to get to the others if you don't cut it off!_ Natsu used his remaining strength, and broke off the connection with the others, and darkness surrounded him.

* * *

><p>"Natsu! No!" Erza shouted running into the battle room.<p>

"What have you done with him?" Gray shouted, running towards their friend who stood there silently.

"He's changed for the better." The man laughed. "He's ours now."


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey, sorry for the really late update. This chapter was a bit of a bitch to write, and my week hasn't been the best. Well, the weekend was good. I saw my sister, and I hadn't seen her for a good 6 weeks or so. Then, I got caught up in my uni life, I was going to a load of writing for this on Thursday night, but ended up getting drunk, so my Friday was out because I was hungover, so here it is... I literally finished writing this about five minutes ago... Thank you to everyone who read/reviewed/alerted/favourited this fic. It means a lot to me. I hope you enjoy this one!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 15<p>

"He's changed for the better." The man laughed. "He's ours now."

Erza, Gray, Lucy and Happy stared at Natsu in shock as he turned around to face them, a maniacal grin on his face.

"Natsu?" Happy asked, looking at his friend. Natsu's fist ignited, and he ran at them. Erza blocked the attack but didn't retaliate.

"Natsu! Stop! You know you don't want to do this!" She shouted, hoping at least to break through to Natsu. In the distance, the members of Fairy Tail could hear Cain laughing, but Natsu was the priority to them. They needed to get their teammate back.

"Do what?" Natsu asked, smirking at them. Running and kicking Gray who didn't react in time to Natsu's advance.

"This is not what you want to do. Remember you wanted to bring Cain down? You wanted to defeat him!" Erza shouted, hoping that at least the Natsu they knew could hear this.

* * *

><p><em>Natsu sat in the dark cell room that had been his home for the last year. Cain had just left, and he was alone for the first time in what felt like an age. Natsu felt dirty, not sure when he could recall the last time Cain had actually let him go and bathe. Yuki sat on the opposite side of the room to him, understanding that sometimes Natsu needed some time to think. He had, of course, witnessed everything that had happened to Natsu.<em>

_ Natsu looked up from the position he was in. "Hey, Yuki. How much longer do you think we'll be here?" Natsu asked him, not looking at Yuki at all._

_ "I'm not too sure." Yuki replied. "Not too long hopefully."_

_ "If I don't manage to get out of here soon, I'm sure Fairy Tail will find me." Natsu said, using the remaining bits of his determination to reassure himself that there was an escape from this place._

_ "You've been here a long time, Natsu, longer than me. What makes you think Fairy Tail are still looking for you?" Yuki asked, he didn't want to upset Natsu, but he wasn't sure that Fairy Tail was still looking for him._

_ "They are! They'd never give up on me." Natsu argued._

_ "I know my mother isn't looking for me anymore. She wouldn't even know where to start." Yuki said._

_ "Don't think like that. Your mother could be trying everything to get to you." Natsu comforted. "We're completely cut off from the outside world. We don't know what's going on out there."_

_ Natsu tried to move, but his body was sore and bleeding. He could feel every cut and bruise that littered his body, but this was a daily feeling. Natsu thought of Cain, and why he decided to be so cruel to Natsu. Natsu understood that he was probably one of the more defiant cases here, but that didn't justify why Natsu had suffered so much at Cain's hand. Cain didn't usually pay 'visits' to the other people here. He usually got his cronies to do it for him._

_ "It's weird, I don't even know how long I've been here anymore." Yuki said. _

_ "No one knows. I just know it's been a long time. I was here for a long time before you came." Natsu replied. "When we get out they'll tell us how long we were gone for. You can see your mother again."_

_ "And make up to her. I didn't leave her with the best of words. We had argued. I was running away from her, and then I was taken. I didn't stand a chance." Yuki said softly to Natsu._

_ "Don't think about that. Just think about how happy she'll be to see you again." Natsu replied._

_ "Just think about how happy your guild mates will be to see you again. Don't go and do anything stupid when you get back to them." Yuki warned him._

'I remember this. Yuki was like an anchor to sanity to me here. He kept me sane, but everything changed when he was killed.'

_ Natsu lied limply on the floor. The world around him span, and his vision swam between darkness. He could feel himself losing. He needed to get out of here, and fast. His hope was waning. He wasn't sure if Fairy Tail were even looking for him anymore. He wasn't sure how much more of the beatings he could take, not to mention the other things he was forced to do, on a near daily basis now. Every day, either Cain or some new crony would show up, and that would be that. Natsu couldn't remember when Yuki had… left him. He missed him. His only friend in a place surrounded by people that only wanted to hurt him or kill him. He could feel himself losing every day. His body was in constant pain; the bracelet that had been put on his wrist just before Yuki had died had been used more than once daily. He had only seen a select few with the bracelet._

"Natsu!"_ Natsu jumped, the voice hadn't come from anywhere in particular, and there was no one around. _

_ "Who's there?" He shouted, but got no response._

* * *

><p>"Natsu!" Lucy shouted, trying to dodge and evade Natsu's attacks. He wasn't letting up in their attacks, and they were beginning to doubt whether their calls were even reaching him. Erza was trying to get past Natsu to get to the man controlling him, but every time she got near, Natsu would get in the way.<p>

The Fairy Tail members refused to attack Natsu, looking at his already injured body, they didn't want to cause any more damage. They knew Erza could have stopped him, but she couldn't bring herself to attack him. He was on of her closest friends.

"Natsu! Can't you hear us?" Gray shouted.

"Natsu! Don't let them control you!" Happy shouted.

* * *

><p>"Don't let them control you!" <em>That was Happy. But Happy's not here. Natsu had gotten up from the position he was in, and walked up to the bars of his cell, and finding that the door opened easily. Cautiously, he walked out his cell, and found the hallways empty. Looking along the cells as he walked by, all were empty except one. Inside the cell were Erza, Lucy, Gray and Happy.<em>

_ Natsu ran into the cell, worry etched onto his face._

_ "What happened? Guys? Why are you here?" He shouted at them, they were awake, their arms chained to the wall above them. They all stared at him blankly._

_ Natsu stood them for what seemed like an age; he didn't know what do to. He moved closer to them, trying to unchain them from the wall, but the chains wouldn't budge._

"How could you let them control you like this! Natsu! Wake up!"_ Lucy had suddenly shouted at him._

_ "I don't know what you mean! What's wrong?" Natsu asked, hitting quickly at the chains that bound them._

"Natsu!"_ Happy shouted, suddenly tears were running down his eyes, and Natsu bent down to wipe the tears from his face._

_ "Don't worry. I'll get you out of this!" Natsu said, determination running through his veins. He just couldn't understand why they were here._

"Wake up, Natsu!"_ Erza screamed._

_ "But I am awake, what should I do?" Natsu asked, a desperate look in his eyes._

"How could you let them control you this easily, Flame Brain?"_ Gray growled at him._

_ "I don't understand." Natsu complained, still trying to free his friends. He was confused, he didn't understand._

_ "Natsu." Natsu turned around quickly; he knew that voice too well._

_ "Yuki." Natsu whispered, staring at his lost friend._

_ "I'll help you understand."_

* * *

><p>Natsu suddenly stopped his attacks, and stood completely still.<p>

"Natsu?" Erza asked cautiously, not sure what to do.

"Are you there? Natsu?" Lucy asked, looking at her friend with worry.

"What's going on? Why has he stopped?" Cain shouted at the man.

"I don't know, my control's breaking." He replied with fear.

"Stop it!" Cain screamed at him, spit shooting from his mouth.

"Natsu!" Happy shouted. Natsu gripped his hands to his dead, and closed his eyes as if in pain.

"Happy? Lucy? Erza? Gray?" He asked, looking at each of them, before collapsing to the ground and screamed.


	16. Chapter 16

**I'm actually really ashamed of how long it took to get this one out. I've been so busy lately it's sick. I've had assignments due in, I've got exams coming up, my life just caught up with me, and then, I lost track of time. I wrote like the first bit of this chapter after I finished the last one, and like, halfway through the chapter, I find that my writing style seems to change a bit. But hopefully it's still okay. This is the official last chapter. It's the end for Natsu. I'd never really intended for it to be a long fanfiction, there's not much longer you can put these kind of things, well, I didn't really build much on it in the first place, but hopefully you've all enjoyed reading this. I am planning on an epilogue of sorts, just like a 'this is what's going on now' kind of thing. I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed/favourited/ alerted this fic, it means so much to me to hear your feedback! So enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 16<p>

"Natsu!" They all shouted, running to his side. They all watched in horror as Natsu writhed on the floor, screaming.

"What should we do?" Lucy asked, trying to stop Natsu from hurting himself.

"I don't know. He's not being controlled anymore, we need to help him." Erza replied.

Lucy rushed to Natsu's side screaming his name. His laid there, his screams finally stopped, unmoving, and they all feared the worst. But they all believed that nothing could completely bring their Natsu down.

Suddenly, he pushed himself to his knees, a growl emitting from his throat. Punching the floor, leaving cracks, Natsu looked up and glared at Cain. This was not over yet. Natsu would never be theirs.

"It's not over yet," Natsu growled, running forward, throwing a kick at Cain's stomach. Erza, Gray and Lucy stared at Natsu, shock and happiness etched on their faces. They had got their teammate back. Unsure of what to do, they ran forward to the man that had controlled Natsu and began beating at him too.

Cain's face was one of complete shock; he didn't understand how Natsu had gotten out of his control. They had spent so long bringing the boy down, torturing him, raping him. They did everything that they could think of that would harm him, break him. But it obviously wasn't enough. There was more to it.

"Don't get distracted now, _Cain_." Natsu said in a mocking manner, kicking Cain across the face, fracturing his jaw. "After everything you've done to me, and everyone that you took, you deserve everything!"

* * *

><p>Outside Dark Oberus' fortress, things were going similarly, even with their disadvantage, the mages of Fairy Tail refused to back down and fought with all their might, this was for their guild mate, their family.<p>

"You will never harm anyone again!" Makarov roared, as he punched another member to the ground, rendering him unconscious. "This is where you end."

"We'll bring 'em down," The guild responds, and the fight continues, with multiple uses of hand-to-hand combat, and magical powers thrown throughout the battlefield. Fairy Tail was at war, but at this moment in time, they didn't care, it was all for what they believed in.

* * *

><p>Not too far away, having received the message from the few that remained in the Fairy Tail guild were the soldiers of the magic council. They were coming for the after show; they were coming to end the fight. The Magic Council hated to admit it, but they had come to back up one of Fiore's loudest and most reckless guilds of all time, Fairy Tail.<p>

"How much longer till we get there?" One of the soldiers asked, they had been following the traces of magical energy Fairy Tail had left behind on their way to the fight. One of their soldiers was adept at tracking magical energy, and followed the strands of magic that had been left behind in order to follow them; otherwise they wouldn't know where they were.

* * *

><p>Natsu panted heavily, standing over Cain's fallen body, he watched as blood poured from Cain's nose, he stares at the crooked angle of his jaw, but yet, Cain's chest rose and fell in a stuttered manner. Natsu could not kill him. Even after everything that Cain had put him through, he found himself unable to end the life of the man before him.<p>

"You're just pathetic." Natsu told him, and watched as Cain turned his head to face him, blood dribbled out of his mouth. "Everything you did to me, you made people suffer. You made my guild suffer. And for that, I should kill you. But I can't find it in myself to kill you."

"It's because," Cain smiled, blood continuing to fall from his mouth, "of the way we trained you. You've been programmed not to kill your master."

Cain laughed as Natsu's eyes narrowed. And yet, all Natsu could bring himself to do was light his fight with fire, and deliver one final blow, and to unconsciousness he threw Cain, and not to the hell that everyone knew he deserved.

"You're just not worth killing." Natsu sighed, and turned to face his guild mates, all of who were looking at him intently. Natsu heaved a painful sigh, his body aching, and his mind aching. His fight had been difficult, already his body was injured, but he was tired, mentally tired from many different reasons. He looked at his friends, all of them sporting various injuries, his eyes blacked out, but he fought it to keep his consciousness, he would not lose here. He needed to go and finish this, he needed to find her and tell her. He was the only one who could do it.

"It's over?" Lucy asked, looking at Natsu worriedly.

"Not yet." Natsu answered. "I have one thing more left to do."

* * *

><p>Natsu watched passively, as Cain and the other members of Dark Oberus were handcuffed and led away from the fortress. He did not react as medics rushed to his side after he had fallen to the ground, his injuries finally getting to his already exhausted body. He could only stare as his friends ran to his side. The medics sat him up, as they checked over his body and did what was necessary.<p>

"What is it you need to do?" Erza asked him as the medic stood him up to walk him out of the building.

"I need to go and see her. Yuki's mother. She doesn't know he's dead yet." Natsu reasoned.

"I think you should rest first." One of the medics told him.

"I can't rest until I've been to see her." Natsu shouted pulling away from the medic, his breath coming in short gasps, he suddenly felt a strong stinging sensation in his chest, and gripped onto it tightly, wincing.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted.

"Are you alright?" Gray asked.

Happy just cried his name; he did not like seeing his closest friend in pain like this.

"I'm fine. I'll be better after I go and see her." Natsu said between gasps of pain.

* * *

><p>A day later, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza and Happy found themselves at a small house in a distant wood. Natsu had slept for most of the train ride, his usual motion sickness at still not returned to him, and he had still checked the compartment completely every five minutes. But they had made it there. Makarov had understood their plan, and had told them to be safe, and return safe.<p>

Natsu walked up to the door, and hesitated. He didn't want to be the bringer of bad news, but Yuki had left this up to him, and he wouldn't let him down. Yuki was the closest person to him in the time he spent in that hellhole, and he would not leave it that Yuki would just be forgotten about. His mother would know his story.

Feeling the determination coursing through his body, he knocked on the door twice, and listened for sounds of movement as Yuki's mother came to answer the door.

"Oh, my. How can I help you?" A woman with dark brown hair and eyes answered. She was Kuina, Yuki's mother, dark rings hung around her eyes, from sleepless nights of waiting to hear if Yuki walked through the door. Stress lines had been etched into her face, and sadness haunted her eyes.

"Your son sent me here. He wanted you to know." Natsu answered, looking straight at her, he did not flinch as a look of shock took over her face, but stepped forward as she invited them into her house.

It was a strange feeling for Natsu to walk into the house that had been repeated to him many times from looking through Yuki's memories. It almost felt like a home to him, and he could have pointed out every splintered piece of wood, and every bit of rusting metal that kept this house together. It was aging, but the age kept the character. The house showed signs of love, and care. And that was something that made Natsu smile. '_She truly loves you, Yuki. I hope you know that_' Natsu thought, looking at Kuina.

"How do you know about my son?" She asked, looking at the Fairy Tail guild members.

"I was kidnapped with him, we shared a cell together." Natsu replied.

"Then where is he now? What happened to him?" Natsu could hear the desperation in her voice, he felt tears building in his eyes, his throat constricting, but she needed to know.

"He's not here anymore. He's gone." Natsu told her, as tears poured from his eyes, and he watched as she did the same, she fell to the floor and sobbed heart-wrenching sobs. The cry of a mother, who lost her child, was something that Natsu wished he would never have to hear. But he knew this was coming. And at that moment only, for the first time in his life, he cursed life. No parent, or person deserved to suffer like this. And he wished he hadn't had been the one to tell her.

"He wanted me to tell you that he loves you, and that he'll always be with you." Natsu told her.

"How did he die?" She asked.

"It's probably better if you didn't know." Natsu told her.

"I need to know. I need to be able to comfort him when I see him next." Natsu stopped and stared at the women before him. His tears coming to a stop, and he looked at her.

"He was beaten to death, he was pitted to fight against a man that had no hesitation in killing. We were all tortured, but this boys mind had snapped, and Yuki was just too compassionate of a man to kill anyone." Natsu told her, and not being able to face the mournful sobs of the mother anymore, turned back to his friends and began to leave the house.

Reaching the front door, and quiet 'thank you' was heard from the mother, but Natsu walked on.

It was finally over for Natsu. He was finally free.


	17. Epilogue

**Well, I think I left you guys for long enough, right? I'm really sorry about that. I've been really busy. I've had my uni exams and such and it's not been fun. But here we are. It's not very long, and it was never intended to be. It's more of a 'what happened after' sort of thing. But anyway. I'm focusing a bit on my own writing at the moment, so it's all like my own original ideas and stuff. It's all in terrible writing style, it's all first drafts, and I'm editing it. My uncle is going to help me get it all published, which is a lot of pressure for me as I'm not the best writer, and I've always just written in a really slow manner xD**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy the official ending!**

* * *

><p>Epilogue<p>

It had been a year since that fateful day when Natsu had set himself free from the clutches of Dark Oberus, but an ominous air still hung over the doors of Fairy Tail. They still continued their parties, their missions, and a normal outsider would not have noticed the difference in our favourite guild.

But the inner circle of Fairy Tail, the members of the Fairy Tail guild had all noticed a difference. The difference being in their favourite pink-haired Dragon Slayer. Everyone had noticed the behaviour. All of them believing, hoping that these changes would have left over time, but a year on, and many changes had stayed.

Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Erza and Gray all sat around a table, four of the five talking animatedly to each other, but always passing glances back to their ever silent friend. Natsu said, scratching at his wrist where a scar now stood instead of a bracelet. The wrist would still give Natsu pain, but no matter how much healing the wrist underwent, the pain was put down to phantom pains. The same as every other pain Natsu would feel. The cold winter nights had been the worst. Natsu had felt his bones creaking, agonising pain had rocketed through his systems to the point where Happy had stayed up and cuddled against Natsu in hopes of returning his friend some of his warmth.

It was disconcerting for the whole guild to see their boisterous mage brought down to such nothingness.

They were happy to have him back, ecstatic even, but this Natsu was just a shadow of his former self. His old self would occasionally rear its face, and a grin would adorn his face, and he'd happily talk along, and occasionally participate in a regular guild fight. But Natsu would not be the instigator anymore. No matter how much Gray taunted Natsu would not reciprocate. This had caused the stripping ice-mage a lot of worry. His fighting buddy had been taken, and even the thought of that hateful man made his fist clench tight in his hand. He felt his nails digging into the skin, but made no move to lighten his grip.

They all caught Natsu's wince, as he began to grip his wrist. His eyes remained open, and staring into nothing. They could only wonder what he was seeing. What lied beyond his mind.

A minute or so passed in silence on the table, each watched him with held breaths in case another panic attack happened like they did in the first few months. But nothing came, and Natsu settled back down.

A grin found it's way onto his face.

"Hey, guys. What about going on a mission? I need food money." Natsu asked, looking at everyone on the table, a small smile plastered onto his face.

A smile found it's way onto everyone else's face. Their Natsu was here, and making his own progress, not matter how slowly. And that's all they could ask for.

"Sure." Lucy replied, standing up with Natsu to look at the request board to the hidden smiles of the rest of the guild.

Things would eventually look up.


End file.
